Proven
by caedes12
Summary: There are unexpected long term consequences for former Death Eaters that do not sit well for Hermione Granger. So she takes it upon herself to fight the social battle for their equal rights.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first fic in this genre so I am very excited to write it. I have been stewing over this one for awhile, so it feels good to finally get it to the page- or the digital one anyway.**

 **I am obsessed with couples that are on opposite ends falling in love. Its why I love writing stories about Kagome and Sesshomaru, so this next couple seemed like an obvious choice.**

 **Please review.**

* * *

Hermione pushed back her hair that was falling out of her French braid. To say it had been a long evening would be an understatement. She had watched Harry battle for his life yet _again_. And she watched Ginny battle her emotions- between being pissed and concerned. Harry was an auror, and his dangerous career sometimes put his life on the line. Like today.

Ginny slouched in the chair in the waiting room of St. Mungo's next to Hermione, "If he survives, I am going to murder him." She grumbled.

"I'll hold him down." Hermione retorted, making Ginny reluctantly laugh. Hermione sighed, "He is going to be promoted though, so at least he won't be putting his life in danger anymore."

"If only he could have taken the promotion the first time it was offered to him." Ginny said with a scowl.

"He didn't take it because the only reason they offered it to him was because he defeated Voldemort. He didn't feel like he earned it."

"I should being marrying someone less honorable."

Hermione laughed but stopped when one of the nurses walked around the corner, both women looked at her expectantly.

"He is out of the woods, but I wouldn't let out a breath until at least 24 hours." She said, looking exhausted.

At that news, Hermione relaxed. If the healers made it this far, she had every confidence that Harry would do the rest. Hermione stood up, "Ginny, I am going home to freshen up, get some rest and bring food, do you want anything?"

"Please." Ginny said, walking toward Harry's room.

Hermione was grateful for the few hours of rest, she felt refreshed. Using her wand, she made a quick casserole for breakfast that she knew Ginny loved. Piling her wet hair on top of her head, she apparated back to the hospital.

When she walked to the room, Harry was still unconscious and Ginny wasn't in the room. A nurse walked in, "Did Ginny say where she went?" Hermione asked.

"Ms. Weasley left to go clean up a bit after we insisted."

"That was kind of you." Hermione said, putting down her casserole on a side table, she had fully expected to have to bully Ginny into taking a shower, "How is Harry?"

"He was awake a few hours ago to check everything, but we put him back to sleep. He should be awakening within the hour. His vitals are stable, he will make a full recovery—which is what I told Ms. Weasley to convince her to leave."

"She is probably getting a hatchet to kill him for getting hurt." Hermione said with a chuckle, "Thank you for making her leave."

"Ms. Weasley was furious with us for not telling her when Mr. Potter was awake earlier. Do you think she will retaliate?" The nurse asked nervously.

"Ginny will forget about it as soon as Harry wakes up, not that she won't send you a few glares. She knows that it is for the best that she was not approached, and she will reconcile eventually."

"Thank you, Ms. Granger." Hermione nodded as the healer walked out, walking over and serving herself breakfast. As soon as she did, she pulled open Harry's charts to see what they had done. Admittedly, some of the medical jargon went over her head, but she was sure she could understand some of it.

As her eyes went down the page, she saw something that made her eyes widen.

"I didn't think it would take you long to notice." Harry's scratchy voice made her look up, her face softened as she looked at her friend.

"Ginny has threatened to murder you, so you better take this promotion otherwise I will help her." Hermione said.

Harry chuckled despite his fatigue, "I don't want to wake up here again for a long time."

Hermione held up his chart, "I was surprised."

"I heard he had done well in training and was recently given a permanent position here."

"He has come a long way if he is willing to heal you." Hermione said with a raised eyebrow, "Did impressive work too, I heard the healers gossiping."

"Malfoy has been halfway decent to me since the trial."

"I bet so since you saved his arse."

Harry smirked, "Yes, I did"

She giggled, smacking his legs. He winced, "Merlin! I'm sorry Harry!"

"Just teasing." He said with a grin.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Don't make me grab my wand."

He laughed, "Ill placed joke."

"Perfect, you're awake! Now you can see my face as I kill you." Ginny said with too big of a grin.

"I think I might give the two of you some time alone." Hermione mumbled.

"Don't leave me!" Harry begged, but Hermione was already walking out of the room.

.

Hermione was walking down the hall aimlessly, occasionally going by Harry's room just to hear Ginny screaming. She bought a cup of coffee from the café, it tasted horrible but she was drinking it for the caffeine anyway.

"I do not understand, has my service been less then exemplary?" She recognized the dark voice anywhere—especially since Harry had her spying on him half of her Hogwarts career.

"Of course not, Mr. Malfoy, but you understand our position."

"I am already being paid 10% less then every other healer in my position and you want to deduct my pay by another 3?" He asked.

"You are who you are, Mr. Malfoy, be happy you are employed at all."

"I am not a Death Eater any more, Patrice."

"Good day Mr. Malfoy." The woman said before leaving the office, sounding too much like Umbridge for Hermione's liking. Hermione managed to slip into a room as the woman walked by so she wasn't seen. It wasn't too far after that she heard a loud shatter. Clearly Malfoy had thrown something in anger.

"It is a shame." A voice said, making Hermione turn. An elderly man was sitting in the bed upright, clearly on hospice.

"What is?" Hermione asked.

"Malfoy is a good healer, but he doesn't get the credit." The old man told her, his eyes looking through her instead of at her. His voice was hoarse with age and his words mumbled into the next ones, "Good man, always brings me chocolates even though I'm not allowed to have them. I'll only live another month—doesn't bloody matter now if the chocolates kill me." The man grinned and Hermione crossed her arms awkwardly, "But if the nurses catch him they hardly chastise him." The man laughed, "Half think he is terrifying, the other half want to fuck him." Hermione nearly winced at the crass language and she grinned awkwardly wanting to leave.

Looking out to see the coast was clear, she awkwardly nodded to the man before bursting out of room and promptly running into a body before falling onto the ground and spilling the rest of her coffee.

"Merlin! I am so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and—oh." She couldn't help herself as she turned around to see Draco Malfoy. His face held barley-concealed anger, but she knew it was not meant for her. She pulled herself onto her feet.

"Granger." He greeted, though it wasn't said with the sneered tone she was used to.

"Malfoy, I am sorry."

"Potter's room is on the third floor."

"I know, he and Ginny were arguing so I was walking around." She blushed, "Though hopefully they are done now, sorry again." A whirl of her wand had the coffee cleaned and she chucked it into a near by trashcan. He nodded stiffly before walking down the hall, "Malfoy?"

He turned to her and she nearly lost the nerve to say what she wanted.

"I read the charts, I saw that you were Harry's healer. Thank you."

"I was doing my job."

"I know, thanks for doing it well."

"I wouldn't do anything else Granger, are you implying that I wouldn't?" He asked, his grey eyes flashing.

"No" She held up her hands, "I am just honestly saying thank you. He is not an easy patient and—and considering who he is—it was brave of you to heal him. I am sure no one wanted to be the one that couldn't heal Harry Potter." He was quiet, but Hermione could tell by his face that she was right.

"Get back to your friends Granger."

She nodded before scurrying off, she knew she had been rambling but she hadn't seen him since graduation from Hogwarts.

.

Listening outside of Harry's door, the yelling had stopped so she wasn't afraid to walk inside. Ginny looked like she had been crying, but she was curled up into Harry's side.

"You two okay?" Hermione asked Harry nodded, but the question made Ginny tear up again. Hermione knew it wasn't easy to make the youngest Weasley cry, so she squeezed Ginny's leg as she sat down in the chair next to the bed.

"Thank you for bringing breakfast Hermione." Harry said as he took a bite with his left hand as his right was wrapped around Ginny.

"Anything is better than the food here." Hermione said as she bit her lip. Ginny and Harry started talking, but she began thinking about the conversation she had overheard.

She couldn't believe it. How dare St. Mungo's, a reputable hospital, cut Malfoy's pay just because he was a former Death Eater. He had served time in Azkaban after finishing his final year at Hogwarts and paid his debt to society. She'd be the first in line to say he was a foul git, but he didn't deserve this.

And if St. Mungo's was doing this, who was to say other organizations weren't? And how far did this go? Was anyone remotely associated with Death Eaters being marginalized? Dammit, she didn't put her life on the line for this.

"You have that look." Harry said, pulling her from her thoughts.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"The last time you had that look you started S.P.E.W." He said with a grin.

"I overheard a conversation." She said, biting her lip as she stood up briefly to tuck one of her feet underneath of her.

"Eavesdropping? I have taught you a few things." Harry said with a grin.

Hermione glared at him before continuing, "I heard one of the board members of St. Mungo's cutting Malfoy's pay." She frowned, "I think they purposefully assigned him to you so that if he failed they would have an excuse to fire him." Harry and Ginny were both quiet, so Hermione added, "We didn't risk our lives for another group to be marginalized."

"I agree Mione." Harry said quietly, hugging Ginny tighter. Her left hand was on his leg, the diamond engagement ring glittering.

"You were saying you wanted a new project at work." Ginny said, eating another bite. Hermione was an up and coming lawyer in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Her original work with S.P.E.W. had inspired her tow work within the department.

"I think it's a good thing for you Mione. Your voice will carry a lot of weight because we were the ones fighting Death Eaters."

"And you're a muggle born. I wouldn't be surprised if former Death Eaters hate you for it, but hopefully you can get some reformers to support you." Ginny said.

Hermione nodded, still quiet as she was thinking of the hundred things she would have to do. Harry grinned at her knowingly.

"Don't look at me like that." Hermione said with a frown.

"Just come out of your office in time for the wedding." Ginny said with a grin.

"I can't believe it's in three months. It feels like yesterday Harry and I were looking for rings."

"Speaking of looking for rings, when is Ron going to propose?" Ginny asked.

"We talked about it, we don't want to take away from you guys, so I think we will wait until a few months after the wedding." Hermione said.

"Only if you want to Mione, honestly, Harry and I don't mind it. We are too much in the spot light as it is." Ginny said.

"No, I don't really want to get engaged until after anyway. And we still don't know when we want to get married. Between his schedule with George, there just doesn't seem to be an end in sight where our schedules coincide."

"He won't work with George forever." Ginny said.

"Yeah, that's why I am willing to wait until he is done." Hermione said, stretching out her legs.

"You're more patient than me." Ginny said, grinning at her fiancé.

"Hm." Harry hummed before kissing her forehead, "You aren't the only one that is impatient."

Hermione yawned, "Well, I better be getting into work—Harry, I am glad you are feeling better."

"We need to get dresses for the ball—want to go look next week?" Ginny asked. The seven-year anniversary of the end of the War Against Voldemort was approaching, and the Ministry put on a huge ball every year. Of course, Harry, Ron and Hermione were prominent fixtures of the event every year.

"Yeah, next Wednesday? The ball is in six weeks, I want time to have it tailored in case it needs it." Hermione said. Ginny nodded her agreement.

"I'll owl you." Ginny said.

Hermione sat down in her office and looked at all the paper work on her desk. As soon as she left the hospital, she started pulling out any book she could find about laws protecting pure bloods. There were an unsurprising amount of them, many of them could help protect pure bloods whose pay was being marginalized. She quickly thought that using these laws might only make them more hated instead of accepted.

"Ms. Granger?" Her boss walked into the office, he was an extremely attractive wizard a bit older than herself. He moved from the Switzerland ministry a few years after she had started. His blonde hair was cropped short but he kept a little bit of scruff on his face. She was completely dedicated to Ron, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a male. Neil was a great boss; he was just as dedicated as she was to equality between creatures.

"Did you get my note?" She asked when she looked up from her work.

"Yes, you had an idea for a new project." He said, sitting down across from her.

Hermione quickly pitched her idea, and he was nodding halfway into it. She wasn't worried he wouldn't support her.

"Sounds fantastic, we will need to make a formal statement. But we are going to have to find a person who has a viable case—maybe someone only connected to death eaters first. I know this Draco Malfoy was highly connected—maybe get to him later. He is too high profile. We need someone obscure—someone the public will feel sorry for. I'll send out my feelers, you need to as well." Hermione agreed with his assessment.

.

She worked late into the night before finally flooing home a little after midnight.

"You're home." Ron greeted, kissing her cheek.

"Sorry, working on a new project. Have you seen Harry?"

"Saw him after dinner, he was released to go home. Ginny is ecstatic."

"How was your day?"

"Great, George and I are launching our new set of Puking Candies on schedule, so that means I will be sent to Egypt like planned next week."

"But you will be back for the ball?" Hermione asked only to confirm.

"Yeah, I told George that Minister Kingsley would hang me otherwise. So I'll come back the week before."

"That's good."

"Was Neil working late?" Ron asked causally, but Hermione knew it wasn't casual at all. Her entire body tensed.

"Ron, I don't want to talk about this. You know the couch is uncomfortable."

"I was just asking."

"You weren't just asking." Hermione snapped, then took a calming breath, "I don't want to talk about this Ronald. I don't understand. He has never even made a flirtatious comment."

"I don't trust him."

"You don't have to!" She about yelled, "You have to trust _me_!" She shook her head, "Goodnight Ronald." She growled before walking back into their room without another comment. Her anger was brimming at the surface and she found her right hand twitching toward her wand. It was best if she walked away from the anger instead of letting it boil.

.

It was a few hours later she felt the bed dip and Ron sneak into bed. She tried to resist the urge to throw his arm off of her in anger as he snuggled up next to her. She grit her teeth while pretending to be asleep. She closed her eyes tighter and willed herself to fall asleep.

* * *

 **Yay! Chapter one! It's setting the scene, so nothing overly dramatic yet. Also, for Ron lovers, you have been warned. There will be mild bashing. Obviously since they won't end up together, he can't be an exemplary human being to Hermione. But it won't last, and it certainly isn't the focal point of my story.**

 **Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2. I have written a bit ahead, so I hope to update again late next week. Thanks for the reviews!**

* * *

Hermione adjusted her bag as she walked through Diagon Alley. She purchased a few books that had a more thorough history of pure blood families. She had been lucky to find the perfect person to represent in her battle to make sure people on the 'wrong side' of the war had better out look. It was one of Blaise Zabini's cousins. The cousin was four years older than Blaise, a Hufflepuff and had helped the Order. But it seemed the name connection was enough to smear his reputation. His pay was seven percent less than others in his position and he had several establishments refuse to help him. But in helping him, she found there was a lot about pure bloods she didn't know.

She had been tempted to go to the shadier parts of Knockturn Alley, but she had been advised against it. Many of the pureblood history books there had spells on them to keep muggle borns away. She saw a young boy standing on the corner looking confused and trying to keep back tears. She was horrified to see several people walk by him without stopping, he was clearly lost.

"Hello." She said, squating down to look at the boy. His blonde hair was disheveled and his grey eyes were filled with tears.

"Hi." He said shyly.

"Are you lost?" She asked.

"I can't find my Dad." He said, wiping tears from his face.

"Okay, where did you see him last?" Hermione asked.

"I—I don't know. I went to go look at a broom and—and—and then he was gone!" He cried out, tears finally spilling down his face.

"Well, we are going to find him." Hermione said strongly, "Want to take my hand? Let's go look for him."

"But—but I can't go with strangers." He said, stepping away from her.

"My name is Hermione, what's yours?"

"Hermione?" He asked, and she nodded, "You—I have seen you in the paper." He said slowly, and she nodded, "You're the one that is helping pure bloods." That narrowed down things. Hermione assumed with that that he had pure blood parents with a comment like that, "My Daddy went to school with you." He said.

"Who is your Dad?" Hermione asked.

"Draco Malfoy." He answered proudly.

Hermione tried not to wince, "What is your name?"

"Scorpius." He said, still wiping away tears.

"And how old are you?" She asked, pulling out a tissue to give him.

"Eight." Eight was interesting. He was born during the war. A thousand questions popped into Hermione's head but none of them Scorpius could answer.

"Here I will send a note to your Dad where I am taking you—lets just go to the book store right there. We can sit on the window seat and wait to see your Dad." He nodded slowly before reaching out his hand, and Hermione grabbed it tightly.

Hermione set him up on the window seat and grabbed one of her favorite books because it wasn't a store that had too many children appropriate books. She wrote a quick note to Malfoy before putting the spell on it to find him, it was similar to the ones that the ministry used when sending notes within the ministry.

"Can you help me read it Ms. Hermione?" Scorpius asked.

"Of course." She said, opening the first page.

"What book is it?" He asked excitedly.

"Hogwarts, A History." She replied.

"That's where Daddy went to school! Daddy says if I am good I can go there too when I am big enough—did you go to Hogwarts?" Hermione realized quickly this might not be the best choice, but it was too late now.

"I did go to Hogwarts." Hermione said.

"My Daddy was in Slytherin."

"I was a Gryffindor."

"That's the one with the lion!" He said excitedly, and Hermione nodded. Reading to him seemed to calm Scorpius down, for a long while she thought she was going to have to listen to him cry until Malfoy got there.

The note she had written to Malfoy had been a huge source of anxiety. What in the world was she supposed to say? Found your son, please come find at this address. It seemed too impersonal. She was so confused on what to feel about it. It wasn't like she could do something personal, the only thing personal between her and Malfoy was how much he bullied her. And that was hardly appropriate. She heard the doorbell charm and looked up.

"Scorpius!" Malfoy called.

"Daddy!" Scorpius yelled as he started to cry again, jumping off the window seat and leaping into his arms. Hermione found herself confused as she watched Malfoy hug the boy tightly.

"What have I said about running off?"

"I didn't mean to!" Scorpius said in between sobs.

"You're okay." Malfoy hummed in a tone she had never heard him use before, it was soft and comforting. Hermione cracked her knuckles, trying to not feel so awkward as she stood up and grabbed the book Scorpius was reading. The first thing Hermione noticed was that there was not a wedding ring on his finger. Even more questions popped into her head.

Malfoy finally made eye contact with her, "Thank you Granger." He sounded genuinely relieved. His knuckles were white from holding Scorpius so tightly.

"You are welcome." Hermione said softly. It was the only nice exchange she ever had with Malfoy.

"Ms. Hermione!" Scorpius called to her as she went to walk out the door.

"Yes?" She looked back.

"Thanks for helping me find my Daddy."

"You are welcome."

"And I liked the book you read to me."

"It is my favorite." She confessed, feeling like she needed to blush as Malfoy stared at her.

"Which book is it?" Malfoy asked Scorpius.

"It's a book all about Hogwarts! Ms. Hermione showed me a map and showed me where you used to sleep and—and—and where you used to eat dinner!"

"It's Hogwarts, A History." Hermione said before Malfoy could ask.

"We have that one at home, Scorp, I will show it to you when we get home." He said, bouncing Scorpius in his arms a bit. He looked back to her, "I am grateful, Granger." Coming from Malfoy, the thank you completely shocked her. She figured he wouldn't even look at her as she made an exit.

"You are welcome, Malfoy." She replied, glad she sounded as sincere as she felt. Scorpius was whispering in Malfoy's ear, so she watched.

"He wants to know if you are the one on his chocolate frog cards." Malfoy said.

"I am!" Hermione said excitedly.

"How did you do that?" Scorpius asked with big eyes.

"You have to read the card!" Hermione joked.

"Dad! We have to go home and read it!" He said.

"We will, I promise. Say thank you to Ms. Granger."

"Thank you Ms. Hermione for helping me find my Dad."

"You are welcome Scorpius, stay close to your Dad, alright?"

"I will!" He said with a grin, "I promise."

xxXXxx

Hermione smiled as she walked out of the bookshop and tucked her hair behind her ear. She was glad she ran into him.

"Hermione!" George called as she walked toward the shop, Hermione waved as she sped up and stepped into the shop. The tall ginger slid down form one of the upper floors to kiss her on the cheek, "How has Ronald been treating you?"

"Like the princess I am." She assured him, but George scoffed.

"He wouldn't know a princess if it hit him." She didn't understand why George was against her relationship with Ron, but he was.

"Is he here?" Hermione asked.

"No, he went out."

Hermione frowned, "I was supposed to have lunch with him."

"Sorry Mione, I have been busy. I don't know where he went." George said with a frown.

"That's ok!" Hermione said happily, "I have stuff to do anyway, bye George!"

"Bye Mione." He kissed her head again.

.

She really didn't have anything else to do in Diagon Alley, so she walked out of George's shop and figured she would grab a bite to eat—she was starving.

"Granger!" A familiar voice called, and she turned to see Malfoy and Scorpius walking toward her, "I realize this was remiss of me, but I should have offered to buy you a meal for finding my son."

"Oh no!" Hermione said, shaking her head, "Honestly, I did it because he looked nervous. I am fine."

"I insist." He said awkwardly, and Hermione figured he didn't want to owe anything to her, so she nodded.

"Ms. Hermione?" Scorpius asked,

"Yes?" She asked, taking his hand when he offered. Scorpius let go of his Dad's hand but looked back at him, Malfoy nodded.

"Was it hard to get on a chocolate frog?" He asked.

Hermione laughed, "It wasn't easy."

"Daddy bought me a chocolate frog!" Scorpius held it up, "Maybe it has you in it!"

"We will see, but I think we have to wait until after lunch for you to eat it."

"That's what Dad said." Scorpius said with a huff making Hermione giggle as she sat down at the table at one of the tea places, it had small sandwiches and usual lunch things. Hermione had been there many times, "Daddy, can I go look at the fishies while we wait for food?" He asked excitedly. Hermione was terrified to be left alone with Malfoy, but she didn't want to beg the child to stay.

"What do you want to eat?" Malfoy asked.

"Ham sandwich and carrots!" He said excitedly before running away, Hermione fought the urge to go with him.

"This is not easy for me either, Granger." Malfoy said, and she jumped and looked at him.

"Sorry, I am sure it isn't. This really isn't necessary, I swear."

"Wouldn't have helped him if you knew he was mine?" He asked cruelly.

"Of course I would have!" Hermione snapped, "He is a child and he was alone. I do not regret it."

His posture changed, "Most people would not have."

"Yeah well, most people are ass holes." Hermione said, making her jump and cover her mouth, "Sorry" His eyebrow was raised.

"Who knew the Gryffindor Princess used swear words?" He asked, his tone teasing.

"Yeah, the press knows that for sure. I have used more than one curse word and hex to keep them away from me."

"Yes, I would do that—but I'd be thrown back into Azkaban." His tone was light, but she knew he wasn't kidding. It was quiet for a bit, Hermione didn't quite know how to respond, "I am sure you have questions."

"Thousands, but I will only ask one."

"Hm." He didn't seem thrilled at the prospect, but he motioned with his hand.

"How did you keep him a secret from the press?"

"Most people know, but my family is still well connected so I managed to keep him out of the papers."

"He looks like your clone!" Hermione said.

"Clone?" He asked.

"Muggle term, it means that you two could be identical." She shook her head, "But when I saw him at first, I didn't immediately guess the connection—though I should have."

"I do think he has some of Astoria's looks."

Hermione tried not to jump at the information, her wheels turning.

"If you think any harder, steam will come out." He said dryly, making her laugh off some of the tension.

"I'm sorry—I haven't seen you in seven years. In my head you are very different."

"You two ready to order?" A waitress asked, interrupting them. The two both rattled off their orders, clearly a favorite place of Malfoy as well.

"Daddy?" Scorpius came back, climbing on the chair next to Hermione.

"Yes?"

"Can I bring my chocolate frog cards to school?" He asked.

"Only if we charm them to stay still."

"Daddy says I can't bring wizard things to a muggle school—one time I brought a chocolate frog and it jumped out of the box—Ms. Mickle screamed really loud but she thought I had captured a frog from outside so I didn't tell her it was chocolate."

Hermione hid a small grin behind her hand because Scorpius seemed so serious, but then he was off again. She was also baffled he went to a muggle school, making her suspicious.

"He goes to a muggle school?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Malfoy answered calmly.

"What year in school did I punch you?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Third?" He said it like a question, and he was clearly confused.

"What did I call you before I punched you?" She figured the first question might be too easy—and maybe a lucky guess.

"A foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach." He answered, amusement in his eyes.

Hermione leaned back, "I thought it might be polyjuice potion."

He surprised her by laughing, "That's fair." He said after he laughed, "My son changed me." His face softened as he looked at his son who was very nearly pressing his face against the glass, "He has been discriminated against because who I am—for what my family has done. It is not fair that he bears the burden of my sins. I was thinking that one day, and I suddenly realized I had blamed muggle borns for being born by muggles." He had a rueful grin, "It was a hell of a day."

"How old was he?" Hermione asked.

"Two? Three? I was looking for day care services, I didn't want to rely on my parents to take care of him all the time—and Astoria refused to be in the picture." He sounded angry but Hermione didn't pry.

"I'm trying to help that." Hermione said softly.

"I know, I read about you in the papers. When is your final court date?"

"Next Wednesday." She said with a grin, "But we have a slam dunk, I don't think they will deliberate long." Malfoy nodded, "We are using it to hopefully get laws about not discriminating against Reformers—it's not fair."

"What made you do this?" he asked.

She blushed, "Your food." The waiter interrupted, dropping it off at their table.

"Scorp!" Malfoy called, and Scorpius ran over.

"They got a new fish!" He said as he sat down next to Hermione.

"Tell her about your book." Malfoy said, and Hermione looked to Scorpius.

"I got a book! My Grandmother gave it to me. It has every fish ever! And they swim—it's so cool." He said with a grin.

"Are you learning the species?" Hermione asked.

"Uh-huh! Dad's helping me with the names because some of them I can't get by myself."

.

Conversation flowed through out lunch, and Hermione found herself laughing frequently. Scorpius was enchanting. He jabbered away through most stories, his face expressive. She couldn't help but feel that Malfoy had never been like that.

After lunch, Scorpius pulled out his chocolate frog and looked at her expectantly.

"Odds are it isn't me." Hermione teased.

Scorpius grabbed the frog quickly before it jumped, giggling as it wiggled in his hand. He took a bite of it as he grabbed the card. It was Albus Dumbledore. Hermione could see Malfoy stiffen in her peripheral vision. She didn't want him to feel that way, she didn't blame him for his role.

"It's not you." Scorpius said with a frown.

"No, but I knew him."

"You knew him?" Scorpis asked, "But he looks so old!"

Hermione laughed, "He was old when I met him too."

Malfoy must not have noticed his hand was shaking on the table. Her hand twitched to comfort him, but she was too afraid to touch him. So she settled on saying nice things.

"Your Dad knew him too." Hermione said it softly.

"Dad! You never said that!" Scorpius said excitedly as he looked up at Malfoy, then frowned, "Dad are you ok?"

"Yeah—Yes, sorry." He pulled his hand off the table and Hermione looked up at him. His eyes were filled with anguish, and she was sorry it happened.

"Dad, can we go home?"

"Sure, Scorp—say goodbye to Granger."

"Bye Ms. Hermione! Thanks for helping me!"

"You are welcome little nugget." She said with a smile, kissing his head.

xxXXxx

"What the fuck is this?" Ron asked, slapping the Daily Prophet down on the counter. Hermione was over a frying pan making an egg sandwich for breakfast, so she put her spatula down much more calmly than what she felt before grabbing it. On the cover was a photo of her at lunch with Malfoy and Scorpius.

"I had lunch with Malfoy and Scorpius three days ago, I am surprised they are printing it now."

"And you didn't tell me?" He practically roared.

"You didn't show up for our lunch date, so I made other plans."

"With them?"

"Yes, Ronald. Please stop yelling." She moved back to flip her egg.

"Why the fuck would you do that?" He asked.

"I'm not talking to you when you're like this." Hermione growled, putting her egg on toast, "And I am going to work. We have a lunch date again, or are you going to miss that one too?"

"Why do you keep throwing it in my face?"

"A simple note would have sufficed." She snapped, "And I don't keep throwing it in your face. Your excuse is pathetic. And that is the second time you have done that in a month. The first time I was forgiving, now I am holding it to you. And you're not exactly apologetic!" Hermione took a deep breath, "I'm going to work."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews. I am excited about this chapter, it is time for drama!**

Hermione looked down at the ring on her left finger. It fit perfectly. And for some reason she hated it. She let her hand fall to the side as she flattened her dress. She was going to the Seventh Annual Ball to celebrate the end of the War. Her dress was a light sparkling grey until it hit her waist, and then the bottom was black. As soon as she put it on, she fell in love. It was also surprisingly comfortable. Her hair was pulled back into a soft bun, and she turned to leave.

"You ready?" She asked Ron as she left the bathroom.

"Can you tie my bow-tie?" He asked.

No complement on her dress.

"How do I look?"

"Great—not so tight." He complained about the bow-tie, so she fixed it. She bit her lip to keep from complaining about his complement.

"Let's go, Harry and Ginny are already there."

"How do you know?" He asked.

"Because they have never been late to an event in their life—come on." She urged, pushing him to the floo.

xxXXxx

"Hermione!" Harry said excitedly, kissing her temple, "You look absolutely fantastic!"

"I told you she would." Ginny said, looking like a goddess in a champagne colored dress, "Ron did you complement her?" Ginny turned to the empty space next to Hermione, he had already walked off, "Hermione, why do you put up with that?"

"I don't have much of a choice." Hermione retorted.

But she did have a choice. She hated complaining about Ron, it felt like she lived through so much during the war only to complain about her boyfriend not being present sometimes. It was a balance of being thoroughly annoyed, but then just being grateful she, and Ronald, were alive to _be_ annoyed. But there was somethings she wouldn't tolerate.

She had not told anyone, but the week before she had been going through the post.

 _Their_ post.

She found a letter addressed to Ronald, but didn't recognize who it was. When she saw the letter, a bad feeling started creeping in—and she hated to be proven right. She didn't think she was being a crazy girlfriend when she opened the letter, it didn't occur to her then. The letter hadn't contained anything she wanted to see. It was clear from the content that the relationship hadn't escalated to anything sexual—but she knew it wasn't far off.

She had no idea why she said yes to his proposal that night. Maybe because he had made such a romantic gesture. Maybe because she was still too much in shock to think. If he would have asked her before she saw the letter, she would have said no. She wasn't ready to be married. Now, she wasn't sure she wanted to be married to _him_ at all.

"You alright Mione?" Harry asked, his green eyes ever perceptive when it came to her.

"I'm not sure." She answered honestly.

"Mr. Potter! Ms. Weasly! A word!" A press agent called.

"Sorry, Kingsley asked me to talk to that press guy." Harry said, taking Ginny by the small of her back as he led her along.

Hermione looked around for her fiancé, but could see him talking to several people by the bar. She didn't know any of them, so she didn't want to approach. Looking around for a friend, she found Luna not too far away.

"Luna, how are you?"

"Good thanks. My father and I are busy with another edition of the Quibbler."

"That's exciting, I can't wait to read it." Hermione did have a subscription to the Quibbler. Though most of it was nonsense, she did enjoy reading it if only to talk to Luna about something, "Who did you come with?"

"Rolf Scamander—he is over there." She pointed toward the bar. Rolf was tall, but not as tall as the George Weasley. He definitely stood out in the bunch with his dark hair was slicked back. He was holding two drinks as he walked up to the two of them.

"Ms. Granger." He said with a nod. Hermione still had to get used to this, there were people who knew her name who she had never met. He gave one flute of champagne to Luna, then offered Hermione the other.

"Oh no thank you, I don't want to take yours." Hermione said with a blush.

"It's quite alright, I am sure someone will be around soon with more." He said.

"Where is your date, Hermione?" Luna asked.

"I am not quite sure, he was over there but I lost him." She said with a shrug, "Where did you two meet?"

"I work with Luna to find creatures all around the world." Rolph said, "We just got back from India—our trip will be detailed in the next edition."

"I can't wait to read about it." Hermione said genuinely, seeing Ron look around before ducking back into one of the ministry halls, "Excuse me."

Hermione walked light on her toes to avoid being heard as she followed Ron, though she wasn't even sure why she was doing it. It was an instinct that let her know that she didn't want to be seen, she didn't want to be caught being the crazy, over paranoid, girlfriend that couldn't trust her boyfriend to walk down a hall at the ministry. She wasn't that person. Freezing, she decided she wouldn't do it, and moved to go back to the ball.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, and it took her a moment to realize he wasn't talking to her. Her heart was in her chest and she felt like she was going to get sick.

"I wanted to see you." The woman answered, it was purred.

"My fiancé is here, we cannot be seen together."

"That's not what you said last night."

"Last night was a mistake." Hermione was going to throw up. She wanted to run away but she wasn't sure she could move. He was cheating on her. Why did she even sneak off to hear this conversation? What was her life coming to? "I'm getting married to her, I don't want this."

"Then why come to me in the first place, Ronald?"

"I don't know!" He yelled, "I'm not this person! I don't cheat on my fiancé."

"You _are_ cheating on your fiancé." The woman hissed.

Hermione heard some banging around like he had shoved her. But a moan quickly enlightened her to the real reason they had become quite.

It was like her muscles suddenly knew how to move and took her away, but thankfully not toward the ball. Her emotions were lapping at her heals, and she couldn't let the press see her fall apart. She walked through the ministry, not sure where her feet would guide her. It was in a hallway where her emotions finally caught up with her.

The sobs hurt her throat to get out at first, but suddenly she was an incoherent mess as she grasped the wall to hang on to. When her legs still seemed too weak to stand, she sat down on the ground, pulling her legs up to her chest.

Ron was cheating on her.

The conclusion hit her chest like a train. It made her chest want to cave in, but she wanted to scream at the same time. Her entire body hurt from feeling each emotion rush through her.

After all they had been through. All of the trials—it came to this. What was she going to do? How would she tell people? And the Weasleys! She loved them too much to tell them this.

Millions of thoughts rushed through her head, but they weren't full ones. It was like they ran away before she could think them through and another bubbled up.

But what to do next? How would she even bring it up?

She would confront him tonight.

Hermione heard someone walking down the hallway, but she was too far caught up in her thoughts to pay him or her any mind. But she was surprised when she felt someone sit down next to her and hold out a handkerchief. Looking over, Malfoy was looking straight ahead as he held it out, like he would rather not look at her tears.

"Thank you." She murmured, dabbing her face though she was sure her make up had gone to hell anyway, "I don't want to talk about it." She said defensively.

"I didn't ask." He snapped, he sighed before adding a bit grudgingly, "I can go grab one of your gang of misfits."

"No!" She said a bit too loudly and a bit too quickly. He had tensed to stand up, but he relaxed against the wall again.

"Trouble in Trio Paradise?" He sneered.

"Malfoy, if you are going to be an arse just leave me alone." She grumbled, knowing she sounded pathetic. They were both quiet for awhile, and she was wondering why he hadn't left.

"That was inappropriate of me—old habits die hard." He finally said after a few minutes.

She grinned despite her tears and let out a laugh.

"I saw you won your court case." He said, "Your closing argument was well done."

"You saw the transcript?" She asked, her closing argument hadn't been in the paper.

He nodded, "A lot of—people like me—have read it."

She sniffed, wiping her face again, "I am glad, he was just the start. We are looking for more to do."

"Some people in the community are not happy you are doing this." He said awkwardly.

She shrugged, folding his handkerchief before wiping more tears off, "I have gotten threats to stop but." She waved her hand, "If I wasn't getting death threats I wouldn't be me."

"How pragmatic of you." He said stiffly.

"I like what I do." She tucked her feet in closer, her heals that she didn't remember taking off beside her, "And people will listen to me about former Death Eaters. I was one of the Golden Trio and I can get over it—so can everyone else." She growled.

"Why did you take on this project, Granger?" He asked, she was beginning to recognize that he was purposefully asking her questions to distract her from whatever she was going through. She was grateful, though she didn't know how to express it.

She sighed, "I heard you—that day in St. Mungos a few weeks ago. They cut your pay again."

"It doesn't matter what I get paid, I have the Malfoy business." He growled, his tone defensive. Hermione realized she may have insulted his ability to provide for his son, so she was careful about how she responded.

"You do—but not everyone is in your shoes. It isn't about what you have—it's the fact that the _awful_ woman thought it was ok to cut your pay because of your past." She huffed, "I didn't fight Voldemort for another group to be marginalized."

He was quiet, his body stiff so she decided to change subjects, "Thanks for sitting with me." He hummed so she knew he heard. The panic that had settled over her before came creeping back. How as she supposed to go back in and face him in that room?

"Come on Granger, you owe me a dance for this. I need the PR." He said standing up, then added, "And so do you."

"You think more pure bloods will like me if I dance with you?"

"They will talk to you." He corrected.

"Fine." She grumbled, standing up as well. Not thinking about it, she held onto his shoulder as she slipped her high heels back on. When he flinched she frowned, "You won't be able to dance with me if you can't let me touch you." She let go when her other heal was on.

"It surprised me is all." He defended himself.

She raised an eyebrow but accepted his excuse. Pulling out her wand, she muttered the spell to get rid of puffy eyes and red face.

"Do I look like I have been crying?" She asked.

He looked a bit embarrassed before he said, "Your—black stuff on your eyes."

"Oh!" She wiped under her eyes real quick, her fingers covered in mascara, "Better?"

"Hm." He hummed again, beginning to walk out so she followed him.

Hermione didn't make eye contact with Ron as Malfoy and her walked onto the dance floor. A song was already playing so she easily slipped in. Her body didn't react to Malfoy touching her like she thought it would. She half expected her entire body to shrivel at his touch, but she relaxed into his hold.

"My son has decided you are his favorite chocolate frog card." He said to break the tension as they danced. Hermione laughed.

"How is he doing?"

"Quite well, his teacher bought an aquarium for his classroom."

"I am sure he is thrilled."

"Very thrilled."

"What started the fish obsession?"

"When he was younger I took him to muggle aquariums. I didn't want to go to a wizard place and get caught with him, so I went to muggle places. The zoo, parks—things like that. He liked aquariums the best. We have been to quite a few."

"He is enchanting."

"Thank you."

She saw Ronald walking around the room, and she stiffened. She didn't want to see him. She couldn't deal with him right now. Malfoy pulled her along the dance floor, moving her away from Ron.

"Thank you."

"Whatever your problem is, you will fix it. You have with everything else."

She laughed at his sneered tone and over confidence, knowing he used the snide tone for her benefit and to boost her confidence. It had the desired effect, so she steeled herself for the next steps with Ronald.

When the dance ended with Malfoy, she practically ran to the floo to get back to her apartment. Her heart was pounding as she flicked her wand to pack all of her things, she didn't want to run into Ron while she was packing. She wanted to sneak out without him being there. Her clothes seemed to understand her frantic pace as they flew into her suitcases.

Taking one round of bags, she apparated to Harry and Ginny's house. They weren't married yet, but they built a house together in Godric's hollow.

"Mione?" Harry asked, surprised to see her. He was still in his dress robes.

"Ron is cheating on me, I am moving out—can I stay here awhile?" She blurted out, her tone sounded even despite what she felt. It was almost like she could hear herself talking but it wasn't her.

"Yeah, do you need help?" He asked, his face paler.

"No, I only have a couple more things. Are you sure this is ok? What about Ginny?"

"We have three guest bedrooms—we will be fine. She is in the shower, so I'll tell her."

"Can you make sure he can't get here? He will look here first and I don't want to talk to him right now."

"Absolutely, I'll change the wards." He promised, "You ok?"

"Right now I want to get all my stuff before I have another mental meltdown."

"Alright, do you want ice cream or alcohol when you return?"

"Both?" She asked, emotion leaking into her voice.

"Excellent." Harry said, she could have cried but she locked down her emotions before she could start and apparated back to her apartment to get the rest of her things.

Hermione carried her last bag into the kitchen and stared at the table for a second before looking down at her ring.

"Mione? What are you still doing up? Its 3am?" Ron's voice made her jump, _shit_. He leaned in to give her a kiss, but she took two steps back.

Slipping the ring off of her finger, she set it on the table as calmly as she could.

"What's going on?" He asked, his voice strange.

"You know Ron." Her voice was even.

"No, I don't." His voice was furious, "Is this about Neil?" He asked. Icy rage went through her, "Are you cheating on me with him?"

"Ron, you are projecting."

"What are you saying?" He asked,

"I know you are cheating on me." He bit his lip to lie to her but she screamed in anger, "I _know_ Ronald. I heard you at the ball."

"Why were you back there?"

"Does it matter?" She asked, tears leaking down her cheeks that she wiped away.

He sat down on a kitchen chair. She expected explosive anger out of him—but not this.

"I'm leaving to go to Harry's, I already moved my stuff out." She said evenly, his eyes flashed as he looked up at her.

"What? What do you mean? We aren't going to work through this?"

"Right now Ron—I just have to get away from you." She wiped tears away, "You know as well as I that we haven't really been happy in a long time." She waved her hands and they landed loudly on her leg, "We haven't had sex in weeks, and we yell at each other all the time." She wiped more tears away, "And what's worse is we don't talk. We sit here in silence. I don't want to live this way anymore. I don't want to get pitying looks from George—whom I suspect knows about your cheating."

"He does."

"Merlin." She said, blinking more as tears rolled down her cheeks, "Who else knows?"

"That's it." He said with a frown.

"And now Harry and Ginny."

"You told my sister?"

"No, but Harry will when he tells her I am moving in."

"That's how easy you are giving up?"

"I didn't give up on us." Hermione responded, taking her bag.

"You can't leave."

"I am Ronald. And I don't want to see you for a while. I will owl you when I think I can see your face without throwing up."

xxXXxx

When she arrived back at Potter's house, at some point a drink and ice cream was thrust into her hands between her sobs. After quite some time, she was curled up in Harry's lap, his hands running through her hair. Ginny was by her head, sitting on the floor.

"Ginny, I am sad now—but I will turn to you when I get really angry."

"I have all my hexes ready." She growled under her breath.

"George knew." Hermione said, more tears coming to her eyes.

"He knew?" Ginny had a growl in her voice, her entire body tensed.

"You aren't going over there tonight." Harry said,

"Hell yes I am." Ginny snapped, standing up, "My brother is an asshole and breaks my best friend's heart and the other brother said nothing?" She apparated in a snap.

"I don't think I am ready for anger yet—right now I am just sad." Hermione whispered.

"Well—you already said it—when you are ready for anger, Ginny will help you burn London to the ground." Harry was quiet, "Do you know who it is?"

"No, I heard her voice but I didn't recognize it—I don't really care." Hermione wiped her face and sat up, "I am going to bed—thank you Harry."

"I am always here for you." Harry said, and tears came down her cheeks before she could help it.

"Thank you Harry—I will be here until I can find my own place."

"Stay as long as you like." He kissed her forehead before letting her go off to bed.

xxXXxx

Hermione lay in bed and tried to keep her sobs from getting too loud, but apparently the sobs were heard. The mattress dipped behind her and Ginny got into bed next to her, wrapping her arms around her from behind. Hermione cried harder as Ginny snuggled close.

"Why wasn't I enough?" Hermione asked.

"You are enough—you are more than enough." Ginny whispered.

 **As I warned before, some Ron bashing! Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Another fun and awesome update! At least I hope it is awesome. Thanks for all the follows and reviews, they keep me motivated.**

Hermione smiled at Ginny through the reflection of the mirror.

"You have never looked more beautiful." Hermione whispered.

"I hope so, it is my wedding day." Ginny grinned, flattening out her dress. It was a gorgeous full dress that accentuated her every curve in the most classic way.

"Harry is going to love you."

"He already does." She said with a wink.

"And I already gave you my wedding present." Hermione said with a straight face.

"What?" Ginny asked confused.

"Moving out."

Ginny frowned, "That's not a gift—that's a punishment. How am I supposed to live with just Harry again? He doesn't like rom coms or mint chocolate chip ice cream. And he doesn't have wine waiting for me when I get home from Quidditch practice."

"I loved living with you, but I need to move out on my own."

"I get it. Will today be ok with Ron?"

"I made it through yesterday." Hermione hadn't seen Ron since that night, but the first time she saw him was at the rehearsal dinner. He looked well, as much as she didn't want to admit it. He was Harry's best man, so they would walk down the isle together.

"I owe you forever for doing this." Ginny said sadly.

"Just only make me do it once." Hermione countered.

Ginny laughed, "I knew Harry was my only since his first year of Hogwarts."

"You look beautiful." Mrs. Weasley interrupted the two of them as she walked into the room.

"Thanks Mum."

"You too, Hermione. Just a vision."

"I look good in blue, Ginny chose a good bridesmaid color." Hermione said with a blush.

"Now lets go, you cannot be late to your wedding with Harry Potter."

xxXXxx

Hermione never cried so many happy tears. The entire ceremony she was forever grateful she had magically added pockets to the dress and stuffed them with tissues. She didn't even flinch when Ronald walked her down the isle because she was so happy for Ginny.

Nearly the entire wizarding world was at their wedding. Of course, because of who Harry was, they couldn't have a small wedding. But the venue was free because they wanted the publicity of having Harry Potter's wedding, and the catering and alcohol bill was suspiciously low. It seemed it paid to be Harry Potter sometimes. The wedding was tasteful, though Hermione wasn't sure who cried more: Mr. or Mrs. Weasley.

The reception was at the Burrow. Ginny and Harry wanted to change the sad memories of the reception there for Bill and Fleur's wedding into happy ones. Hermione thought it looked just as magical as it had that night. Looking into her purse, she pulled flats out of her bag and changed her shoes quickly as Harry and Ginny took their first dance as husband and wife. She hopped awkwardly as she tried to change her shoes.

"Need a shoulder, Granger?" A familiar voice made her turn.

"Malfoy, thanks!" She said, using his arm as she teetered out of her heels, sighing as he feet hit the ground, "I'm having déjà vu." She said with a grin.

"What?" He looked confused.

"It's a muggle saying—it just means I lived this before." Hermione said awkwardly, so she changed subjects quickly, "You were invited?"

"Yes, it appears my name still holds weight. And Potter thought it good for my PR since the little photo of us dancing did me wonders."

"It did?" Hermione hadn't seen him since the ball a few months ago, "I'm glad."

"He also implied you would like to talk to me."

"I would like to take on your case." She said quickly, as if saying the words fast would make him say yes.

"I'm not a charity case or some helpless elf for you to be the white night for." He said, his tone dark and offended, his eyes flashing a deep grey that she recognized from school.

"That isn't why I want to." Hermione said softly, "You deserve equal pay—better pay—your work is incredible."

"You know nothing about me."

"And I only had to talk to your son for five minutes to know you deserve it, Malfoy." She laughed, "Maybe I didn't recognize him as your son without your scowl." She bit her lip from pointing out his scowl got deeper, "Don't say an answer now, owl me in a few days and let me know." The firm shake of his head made her grin, despite herself.

"You are not wearing a ring." He said, nodding to her left hand.

"And I am no longer crying." She replied with a bigger grin, he nodded his head in understanding that the last time they spoke she had been crying about Ron.

"Is the Daily Prophet true?" He asked, she appreciated him asking. The Prophet loved to tell lies, and she knew lies had told about him.

"Yes, he cheated." She confirmed.

"Now I am really not sorry his slug-vomiting charm backfired."

Hermione giggled, seeing an amused spark in his eyes that she had never seen.

"Mione, I need you on the dance floor." George said with a shake of his hips as he walked up, "Hey Malfoy, I heard Harry invited you." George handed her a glass of champagne.

"You have a lot of expert dancing to make up for your grievances." Hermione said with a frown.

"I promise I will make it up to you."

"Think about my offer!" Hermione called to Malfoy as she walked away, giggling as George pulled her onto the dance floor.

"What'd you offer him? Sex?" George asked as he dipped her.

"George! No! I offered to take his case!" She hit him but laughed as he spun her around.

"What? I heard whispers of his prowess in the bedroom. Wouldn't blame you after Ronald."

"George! I am not listening to you." She clamped her hands over her ears, making him laugh. It only served for him to hug her tightly.

"I am glad Ronald hasn't scared you away from us, Mione, I would miss you terribly. I always wanted a little sister who wouldn't bat boogey hex me."

"I still might bat boogey hex you."

He laughed joyfully at her come back, she liked to see him laugh like this—so care free. It took him awhile after the death of Fred to laugh.

"You seemed friendly to Malfoy." Hermione said carefully.

"Yeah, he is a better bloke than I thought." Now that had Hermione raising an eyebrow at him. His smile fell, "I saw him at Fred's grave once a few years ago leaving flowers. Since then I have seen those same ones at his grave. One day when I am brave enough I'll ask him why he leaves them—but I am glad he does."

She leaned into his chest as they danced, "You are a good man George Weasley."

"Even when I hide the fact that my idiot of a brother is cheating?"

She smiled up at him, "Even then."

"I think the groom is allowed to dance with the Maid of Honor." Harry interrupted.

"Harry!" She said, swiftly changing arms, "I can't believe you did it!"

"I can't either. I was so nervous this morning."

"Thought about running off?"

He scoffed, "No, plus even if I did she would find me then drag me down the isle by my ears."

"I am glad you are afraid of your wife." Hermione said with a giggle.

"Ron thinks you are dating George." Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry's abrupt change of subject.

"I don't want to talk about Ronald—and that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"

"I think George is encouraging it for revenge."

"Revenge?"

"For making him lie to you."

"Ah." Hermione said. It was quiet as he moved her around, "You invited Malfoy?"

"Yeah, we work together a lot, and I get a feeling he doesn't get out much."

"You work together?" That confused her.

"Anytime an auror goes down, Malfoy works on him—I requested it since he is the best. And he will send me notifications about patients who come in whom he thinks are involved in dark arts."

"If I told you in sixth year that you would invite Malfoy to your wedding—"

"I know, I'd probably hex you." He grinned.

"Do you know his son?"

"Yeah, met him a few times."

"And you never said anything?"

"Didn't I?" He shrugged, genuinely confused.

"I don't understand boys." She said with a sigh, making Harry laugh. It was quiet between the two of them as they danced.

"Do you remember when we danced in the tent?" He asked, she frowned at the memory. It was a dark time, but she nodded—of course she remembered, she couldn't forget, "This is better than that."

She had tears come to her eyes, "You deserve every happiness with Ginny."

"And you deserve happiness too."

A few tears leaked but she quickly wiped them away. Harry kissed her cheek as the dance ended, and she stood back.

"I need a drink." She admitted, and Harry laughed.

"Open bar!" He called as he walked off to someone else demanding his attention.

xxXXxx

Hermione sat back on her ankles as she opened another box. Holding a glass of wine in her hand, she sighed. This box contained lots of things from school. She touched one of her S.P.E.W badges, a few essays on crinkled parchment, a feather from a hippogriff. She looked up when an unfamiliar owl swept in through the open window holding a letter. The pristine owl had a look of arrogance, and she knew exactly whose owl it was.

"You look like a Malfoy." She accused the dark owl, his feathers seemed to absorb the light in the room. The bird put the letter down and strutted about the table a bit, making Hermione giggle as she picked up the letter. Her name was written elegantly on the back. When she flipped it over, the seal was of the House of Malfoy, "I was right." She told the bird, who deemed it not important enough to listen to her—probably because she was right.

The letter agreed to meet to discus taking on his case. She had a feeling something happened—she hadn't seen him since the weeding three weeks ago. A smile came across her lips as she looked at the bird, "I love a new challenge." The bird ruffled his feathers, "I'll give him my answer if you'll wait, but you seem keen to leave." When the bird's feathers settled, she grabbed a piece of parchment.

She needed a place that would be comfortable to him, something to make him willing to open up to her.

 _I'll meet you at your house, send me your address._

 _Granger._

She figured the familiarity of her last name ought to loosen him up a bit after she told him to meet at his house. Biting her lip, she sealed the wax and held it out for the bird. She wasn't surprised when the bird took its time before taking the letter and going out the window _._

It only occurred to her as the bird disappeared from sight that he could live at the manor.

xxXXxx

When she arrived outside of his house, she was regretting her decision to make it at his house. Her being so uncomfortable was going against her plan to make him comfortable. But she was forever grateful that he didn't live at the Manor. His house wasn't too far from Harry's in Godric's Hallow. She was relieved he didn't actually live in Godric's Hallow because then she would question him again about polyjuice potion.

She jumped when the door opened.

"Are you going to stand outside all day Granger?"

She blushed, "I was mentally preparing—I often do before I talk to you." His eyes darkened, but his expression remained the same. She had made him uncomfortable, "I confess I was trying to get you to open up more in your own home, but I think I just made myself too uncomfortable."

"Ms. Hermione!" Scorpius yelled, his eyes peaking around one of Malfoy's legs.

"Hello!" She said, dropping down to his size, "I brought you a present."

"You did?" He asked, still hiding slightly behind one of Malfoy's legs.

"Come in Granger." Malfoy said roughly.

"I wanna open it!" Scorpius said excitedly,

Hermione was shocked at the house— it looked normal. There wasn't green anywhere.

"Sit on the chair." Hermione encouraged, so Scorpius did. The large wooden table was spotless and every surface clean. Hermione went into her bag that had an undetectable extension charm on it. Scorpius was watching her intently. Smiling, she placed a small glass bowl on the table. Tapping the bowl with her wand, water filled it.

Scorpius was looking at her, unimpressed. Clearly he had seen his father conjure water before. Hermione grinned before taking a petal from her bag and handing it to him.

"Put the petal—very gently—on top of the water."

Scorpius looked confused before doing as he was told. As soon as the petal touched the water, it sparkled before gliding down to the bottom of the bowl. When the petal touched the bottom, it swirled and turned into a beautiful fish.

Scoprius gasped, "DAD!" He yelled, "Did you see that?"

"Thank Granger, Scorp."

"Thanks Ms. Hermione! I'll put him with my other fish!"

"Careful Scorp." Malfoy said as Scorpius picked up the bowl.

"I am!" Scorpius sneered as he walked down a hall, assumedly to his room.

"Now that tone—now I recognize him as your son."

"Hm." His eyes were dark, and Hermione knew that wasn't good, "I did not think you would resort to bribing my son."

She frowned, "I didn't mean it that way. He likes fish, I know a spell. I don't think to manipulate people, Malfoy." The last part was nearly growled. Silence fell for a moment, and Hermione let out a breath, "I honestly want to help. That's why I am here instead of a public location where I could scream if necessary." Malfoy crossed his arms.

"If we are going to do this, we must stop making assumptions about each other." He snapped.

She moved away from looking at him, and toward the empty hallway Scorpius walked down, "I agree."

"I will work on my assumptions as well." He said, clearing his throat.

"Okay then, want me to show you what I got?" She asked.

"What you got?" He asked back, confused.

"On your case," She opened her bag a bit.

"You worked on it."

"It's okay, my first consultation is free—then my rates start." She said with a smirk.

"What are your rates?" He asked flatly, moving from leaning against the counter to sitting at the table.

"Nothing—for now. If I win, I share a percentage of your settlement." She argued, then grinned again, "And I don't do that for most people—but I want this case."

"Then I will have to negotiate a small percentage if you are this eager."

Hermione actually laughed, "If it was about the money, I'd be worried."

"So do you want 60%?" He asked.

She looked surprised, "I was going to say 30."

"Take 60, I have enough money—sixty percent of whatever we win won't make much of a difference."

"I am sure you are wealthy, but I plan on suing St. Mungo's for a lot." Hermione said softly, to contain her glee.

"How much?" He asked.

"They purposefully put you in charge of Harry's healing when his life was at risk." She said slowly, "They did it because if you failed, you could be fired. Their bias against you as a Death Eater made them risk the life of the most influential wizard of our time—of our savior." Malfoy scoffed, "Sneer all you want, but it is true. And every member of the jury will think so. Not one person—and even if there is one on the fence—I'm defending a Death Eater. So they will side with you from prejudice."

"Isn't that a bad thing?" He asked. Hermione thought his eyes looked dark, but they weren't as story as they were before—they were amused.

"Only if it is against us." Hermione shrugged, "And a jury is supposed to have a sect of the population—the population is biased no matter how hard I try to make them not to be. Might as well use it to our favor."

Malfoy hummed, rubbing his upper lip with his index finger, "You are more Slytherin than anyone gives you credit for."

Hermione smirked, "I graduated several years ago from Hogwarts, Mr. Malfoy, I understand now the virtues of each house—and when to utilize them."

"I take back my assumption that you couldn't do anything unless you were on the moral high ground." He said, his eyebrow rose.

"And I take back my assumption that you can't apologize."

"I did not."

"That was an apology, and I accept." Hermione said forcefully, "We just need to prove that the hospital staff knowingly put you in charge for that reason. Anyone who will testify for you?"

"Not if I ask." He said with a frown, Hermione nodded.

"I figured as much."

"Will this bankrupt St. Mungo?" He asked after a quiet moment.

"It will bring them to the brink—but St. Mungo's has a lot of influential people who want it to keep its doors open."

"It is one of the only wizard hospitals."

"It is." Hermione agreed, "Most of the Ministry funding goes to St. Mungo's so it is one of the only ones you hear about. But they are a business, like everything else, and the profits they turn are astronomical."

"How much do you want to sue for?" He asked.

"Can you put a price on Harry Potter's life?" She asked a bit melodramatically, "But I think I will start with 90."

"90 thousand galleons?" He asked.

Hermione chuckled, "No, 90 million." Malfoy contained his shock well, "We won't get that much, but we will start there—mostly I chose it to be dramatic—and I can make a convincing argument since I know Harry."

"St. Mungo's will say it is bias." He argued.

"Yes, but I will just argue it makes me more passionate. And I am not defending Harry Potter, I am defending a Malfoy."

Malfoy sat back in his chair, "How long do I have to think about this?"

"A week? Will that suffice?" She asked as she started putting things in her bag.

"Yes, I will owl you."

"Perfect—oh and here is this—it's for Scopius, it's a chocolate frog under the wrapping—made sure it was one of mine. But I didn't want to give him chocolate this close to dinner."

"But you'll give him a pet."

She waved her hand, "Magic fish, they practically take care of themselves."


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the delay for this post! I have been busy recently, and not writing as much as I have wanted to. But don't worry! I am back, and will hopefully have another chapter up within the next two weeks.**

 **Please enjoy!**

Hermione took a deep breath, staring at Ronald. She had agreed to talk to him, even if it was just to get some closure. He sat across the table in her new apartment, he was staring at his hands.

"I miss you." He whispered.

"I miss you too." She confessed, surprised by how genuine she sounded. She did miss him.

"So you will come back?" He asked, his big eyes looking up at him hopefully.

She sighed, sitting down across from him, "No Ron. I miss being friends with you, I miss having fun with you—I don't miss our romantic relationship." She let out a breath, "Do you remember the fun we used to have before we were together? We don't have that anymore. At some point we began to count things against each other rather than for."

"Can't we try again?" He asked.

"Why do you want to?" Hermione asked back.

He was quiet before he said, "I love you."

"I know you do, and I love you." She replied, "But I'm not in love with you. And I don't think you are either. We are always mad at each other, always under cutting each other. And then you went somewhere else for it. I won't be able to trust you, and the bitterness already in our relationship will manifest more."

"You sound certain."

"When is the last time you saw another woman?" Hermione asked, her eyebrow rose.

He looked up at the ceiling rubbing his face before he answered, "This morning."

"Why would you want something with me if you can be with someone else in the morning?" Hermione asked, surprisingly not feeling any anger, she shook her head, "I think you like the idea of being with me, but not actually being with me." She frowned, "I was upset when I heard you were cheating, but then—within a few weeks—I was happy Ronald. I had my own life again. I wasn't constantly thinking of what I was doing that would piss you off, I didn't worry about working late. I am happier when we are not dating."

"Ouch." He said, his head hung low.

"Let's be honest with each other Ron, for once in our relationship. Let's be honest. Why would you go to another woman if you weren't unhappy too?"

"She tempted me."

"Ronald."

"Fine, I wanted more sex, you are always gone."

Ouch. She didn't say it, but she winced.

"We never had great sex." She said her hands open, "We didn't even have good sex. I don't think getting back together is going to help that."

"You are right." He said with a sigh.

"You should know by now that I usually am." She said with a grin.

"You are more—confident—than usual." He accused.

"Happiness will do that." She retorted.

"No, before that—you started this job and there was something that I could never measure up to."

"It wasn't about you measuring up." She argued, "It was about you wanting me to come back down—its like you didn't want me to succeed."

"I didn't want to be left behind." He countered.

She nodded, blinking back tears, not sure why she was crying, "I am glad we aren't together anymore, but I hope we can still be friends."

His eyes softened, "Always 'Mione."

She let out a sigh, "Then, I will go home then."

"A drink?" He asked.

"Let's not push it." She advised.

"Of course." He said.

xxXXxx

Sighing, Hermione walked out of her fireplace from Ronald's. Wiping soot off of her, she stepped into the kitchen.

She did need a drink.

Walking over to the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of wine and heard a loud crack come from outside. Frowning, she didn't remember anyone who was supposed to come. When she opened the door, her mouth open in shock.

"Malfoy?" She asked.

"Am I interrupting?" He asked, he looked a little shy.

"No, I am just drinking alone." She frowned, "That sounds pathetic but true, I just had a long talk with Ronald so I feel as if I deserve it."

"Oh, back together then I assume?" He said as he stepped inside.

Hermione snorted, "No, but we had some closure—I think he needed it." She pulled out another glass from her cupboard, "A glass?"

"Please."

"Where is Scorpius?"

"With my mother."

"What do they do together?" Hermione asked as she slid him a glass of red wine across the counter. There were bar stools on his side that he sat down on. She was glad there was a barrier between them.

"What kind?" He asked.

"Merlot." She answered

"They mostly run errands together, my mother is not too great with children so she does what she can. She was more—motherly— when I got older."

She took a sip, "May I ask why Astoria is not in the picture?"

"She isn't." Malfoy practically growled, though she wasn't sure whom the anger was for.

"I didn't mean to anger you."

"It is a personal question, one with more gravity than you know you are asking."

She nodded, realizing it was an extremely personal question. She opened up about Ronald, but not completely. He just had the simplest facts that Ron had cheated. She only knew Astoria was gone.

"You look deep in thought." He accused.

"I was" She grinned, pouring more into her glass, "I often thought that if you and I had a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses we could settle our differences."

"One bottle of merlot sounds a lot less dangerous."

"I'll feel a lot better in the morning with wine instead of tequila." She took another sip, "So, what brings you here? I assume your case? I haven't heard in three weeks—I assumed it was a wash—did something happen?"

"I was threatened by the staff—if I came to you I would be fired."

"We'll set up the floo to the office and my house so you are not seen if that makes it easier for you."

"I will do it, Granger, I don't like being threatened." He pulled out a folded set of papers from his jacket, "They asked me to sign a new contract or be terminated in two weeks. This one stipulates less pay with no guarantee of more and punishment if I go to you."

"Why would you sign this?" She asked him.

"They are the only wizard hospital in England of reputation. If I want to do research, if I want to learn more, it has to be in St. Mungos. They have a monopoly on it and it isn't fair or just. I don't want my son to think I just rolled over."

"Alright then, we fight." She said with a spark in her eye, holding up her glass, the glasses clinked.

"Are you always like this?" He asked.

"Like what?" She asked, confused.

"This passionate about going to court—about cases."

"I think so? Ron said I changed when I became a lawyer," She said with a frown, "I don't think so—I think I have always been this way."

"Well, I am inclined to believe you rather than the Weasel."

She giggled despite herself, "Mr. Malfoy—"

"Please don't call me that. Mr. Malfoy is my father, and I would rather not be called that." The underlying tone made her quiet, he seemed upset.

"Ok." She said softly, making him turn from looking at his hands to back up at her.

"When shall we meet?"

"I'll dispatch my team on this, we will work subtly of course. Some of them will probably come up to you and drop off their card in sight of St. Mungos board to make it seem like we are still pursuing you."

He nodded, standing up.

"I'll owl you when we have a substantial case and are willing to make it public."

He took a deep breath before finishing off his glass, "I must go pick up Scorpius."

"Does he like his fish?" She asked.

"Yes, it is his favorite now." Amusement flittered across his grey eyes.

"Don't be afraid to bring him along, I rather enjoy his presence." He stiffened, his eyes darkening, "It is just meant to be friendly, Malfoy, I meant nothing by it."

"It is in my nature to protect him."

"I can see that." She said with a grin.

"Have a nice evening, Granger." He said with a nod of his head before exiting, Hermione went straight to the floo to tell Harry.

xxXXxx

"Harry!" She called as she walked into his house.

"Hey Hermione." Ginny said as she moved around in the kitchen, "Harry is changing out of his auror robes, he'll be down in a minute."

"I talked with Ron." Hermione confessed, sitting down on a bar stool.

"How'd it go?" Ginny asked, "Need alcohol?"

"I had a few glasses of wine earlier." Hermione confessed, "I think it went well. Hopefully we will be able to become friends again."

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Harry asked, sitting down next to her.

"Guess who just accepted my case?" She asked excitedly.

"I thought you washed him?"

"Who?" Ginny asked.

"Malfoy came over to my house today after I talked to Ronald and he accepted my offer, so I will represent him—once he signs the paper work."

"Congratulations Hermione, I know you wanted him." Harry said with a grin.

"So we will have to see the ferret more often." Ginny said with a sigh.

"You won't see him, I don't think. He will come to work, though you should meet his son, he is adorable."

"I can't picture Malfoy as a Dad." Ginny said, her nose scrunched up.

"When you see him, it makes more sense." Hermione argued.

"Did you check for polyjuice potion?" Ginny asked.

Hermione laughed, "I did, actually, when we had lunch."

"Curious." Ginny said, crossing her arms.

"Well, I better get going, I just wanted to pop over and let you know."

"Hermione, what are you doing on Friday?" Ginny asked

"I don't know, but I have a feeling you are going to let me know."

"Double date, there is a new wizard bar opening up, I'd like to go with Harry and I have one of my Quidditch friends I think you'd like."

Hermione frowned, "I'm not sure if I am ready to date."

"It will just be a casual thing, no worries. You never have to see him again, he is mostly there so I don't feel guilty when Harry and I go to the dance floor." Ginny said with a grin and a wink at her husband.

"Fine, I accept." Hermione said with a roll of her eyes as she grabbed floo powder, "See you Friday!"

xxXXxx

Hermione bit her lip as she stared down hospital paper work. A few days of work had led to a lot of information, but it was just that—a lot of information. It was hard to distinguish what was important and what wasn't.

"Hermione?" Neil called from the door.

"Hey Neil, what's up?" She asked, looking up.

"Found anything?" He asked.

"I have found lots of stuff—just nothing relevant." She bit her lip, "But I am going to talk to some of the nurses."

"Why?"

"When I was at the hospital with Harry, one of the other guys said half of the nursing staff was terrified of him—the other half wanted to have sex with him." He nodded, but Hermione figured she would have to explain more, "I think the ones that want to have sex with him might be more willing to help out."

"Are you going to go ask?"

"No, I am too recognizable, I am going to use Mary." Mary was one of her investigators.

"They will be too threatened by Mary, use Rachel."

"Why will they be threatened by Mary?" Hermione asked, looking up.

Neil looked a bit embarrassed, "Mary is—well—they might feel they wouldn't measure up to her."

"Ah, I get you. You are saying Mary is much more attractive and women would be intimidated."

"Yes." He said solidly.

"That makes sense, I'll send Rachel then, and I might send Mary on some of the board members."

"Good idea, when is Draco going to come in?" Neil asked.

"I owled him to see, he hasn't responded yet."

"Did you get a copy of his new contract?"

"I did, and those doctors are idiots for not cursing the document."

"What do you mean?"

"You can curse a document so they won't show anyone. I think it would be obvious you would curse a document if you didn't want me to see it. It's a simple spell."

"It isn't a simple spell." Neil said with his eyebrow raised, "Have you tried it before?"

"I did it my fifth year." Hermione said with a frown, "Wasn't too hard."

"You are the brightest witch of our age, of course it wasn't too hard for you." He shook his head, "I will send in Mary and Rachel."

"Thank you."

It was a few moments before both women came into Hermione's office. Rachel was dressed in professional robes suiting a position of a lawyer office, but Mary liked to dress more on the risqué side, which helped her in the long run anyway.

"We are continuing with the Malfoy case." Hermione informed them.

Mary smiled, sitting down, "When will he come in?" She asked, "I'd love to get an opportunity to jump that."

"No sleeping with clients." Hermione replied automatically, it was a common threat by Mary that was never followed through.

"I know, but I want him for after." She said with a grin.

"Who am I looking into?" Rachel asked, cutting to the chase.

"The women nurses in the hospital, some of them are open lipped about his abilities but lack of promotion, I want to find out who is able to speak up for him." Hermione said.

Both women nodded and left Hermione alone to do work, she smiled as she cracked her knuckles and began to get work done—this was her favorite part of the case.

xxXXxx

Hermione pulled on one of her strands of hair before staring at herself in the mirror. Her skinny black leather leggings were comfortable and she wore a shirt, while bar appropriate, was still comfortable as well.

"Ya ready?" Ginny asked, popping into her room.

"What do you think?"

"Oh!" Ginny cried out in appreciation, "The breasts are out to play!"

"Too much?" Hermione asked, forcing herself not to blush.

"No, not at all! I am glad you are using them to your advantage—it has been long enough after breaking up with Ronald."

"I have had a few dates!" Hermione said with a frown, and she had. But each man had been—immature. She had a disadvantage, fighting in a war aged her at least fifteen years, and women already tended to be more mature. At this rate, she would never find anyone her age she could relate to.

"Come on, hermit. Let's go." Ginny teased.

Hermione frowned, "I don't appreciate that."

"You're going to have fun!"

That's the opposite of what Hermione was having. The bar would be fun, if her date had been at least somewhat enjoyable. She enjoyed her date about as much as she enjoyed Divination. It was like he had heard she was smart so he had memorized a bunch of facts, but when she talked about that topic he knew nothing else. What was worse, he seemed completely oblivious to her disinterest.

"Do you want another?" He asked, she was drinking too much because she didn't want to talk, but he was taking it as a sign that she wanted to get lucky.

"Please." If all she was getting out of this were drinks, she was going to have another.

"I heard you have helped the werewolf population—what makes you take such a dangerous profession?" He asked as he slid over her drink, she chose to ignore the comment about the danger of werewolves.

"I befriended a werewolf long ago, and because of that I try to help the werewolves I can. Not all are willing to come to me, but I try."

"What do you do to protect yourself?" He asked.

"Sorry, I need some fresh air, will you excuse me?" She got up before he nodded, and walked out the door.

Standing up, the drinks were affecting her more than she wanted them too. Growling in anger at her decisions, she took a deep breath as she pushed open the side door and stepped out into the night air.

The air felt good, the slight chill made her sober up a bit. Frowning, she decided that she wasn't going to drink the rest of her drink at the bar. She was done, and she wanted to go home. The base was pumping through her chest, and she hadn't seen Harry and Ginny for a while.

"Your arse is brilliant." Her date said as he felt her bum.

Gasping she turned around to face the young Quidditch player, "Excuse me! Get off!" She growled, pushing him away.

"You wanted to step outside I assume for some one on one?" He said with a dark chuckle, pushing closer to her, both hands grabbing her butt. She struggled in his hold, trying to reach her wand. His body pushed hers against the wall, "Like it rough?" He asked.

"I am warning you now, get off of me!" She snapped, feeling him hard against her was making her start to be more frantic; her fingertips were just grasping her wand.

He was suddenly off of her.

"Go inside." A dark voice growled, "Now."

With his body off of her, she used the wall to support herself. Her entire body was shaking.

"Who are you?" Her date asked.

"I believe you know who I am." His snide voice made it clear who it was that had come to her rescue.

"Why should I leave?" Her date was persistent.

"Because she is a lawyer, you piece of scum. And that was assault. I don't think you need any other charges put against you, not when Quidditch season is so soon."

He moved quickly through the door, shutting it with a slam. It left Malfoy and Hermione alone. She jumped at the sound of the door closing, finally trying to stand on her own two feet.

"Did he hurt you?" Malfoy asked harshly, his tone still sounded dark—it reminded her of when they fought in Hogwarts.

"No," She said, but her voice sounded funny. She cleared her throat, "No" She repeated again, looking up, "Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome." His tone was softer and a little embarrassed. She took a step and her knees locked, she grabbed the railing as Malfoy grabbed her elbow, "Where are your friends?"

"I'm not going to bother Ginny, I am going to go home."

"Are you sober enough to apparate?" He asked.

She was still for a second before she shook her head, tears blinking to her eyes before she could help it. The emotion of the experience was catching up, and she wanted to be far away from Malfoy when it did. Swallowing back the tears forcefully, she looked up at him, "There's a floo on the other side of the club." She said as she went to the door, and then she remembered he was in there.

Her hand stopped on the handle.

"If you trust me, I can apparate us to your flat." He said quietly.

"Don't you want to stay?" She asked.

"No." He said sharply, holding out his arm. She didn't hesitate to reach out and take it.

She sighed as soon as she landed outside her flat.

"Thank you, Malfoy." She said again, waving her door open with her wand. Without so much as a goodbye, she shut the door so she could let the tears begin to fall. She wasn't even sure why she was crying. Her body just seemed to know how to relieve the stress of the situation.

What if Malfoy hadn't gotten there?

She would have reached her wand. She _would_ have.

Opening her freezer, she grabbed a pint of mint ice cream and then a spoon. She dug her spoon into the ice cream when she heard the knock. Stiffening, she grabbed her wand but kept her ice cream as she walked to the door.

"Malfoy, I thought you had gone." She said when she opened the door, quickly wiping away tears.

"Should I owl a member of your trio? I do not think you should be alone."

"Harry and Ginny are still there, and I would rather not talk to Ronald after midnight." She said tartly, taking another bite of ice cream, "I'll be fine."

"I still do not think you should be alone."

Hermione leaned against the doorframe, "You want ice cream?" She asked.

"Will you bite my hand off?" He asked.

She laughed lightly despite her heavy emotions before motioning her head for him to come in.

They were both leaning over her tub of ice cream, sitting on bar stools in her flat. Not bothering with bowls, each had a spoon in their hand. If she would have ever thought at Hogwarts that Malfoy wouldn't have minded eating out of the same container as her, she would have thought she was insane.

"What were you doing out?" She asked.

"Blaise Zabini—do you remember him?" When she nodded he continued, "We met up for drinks. You were there with the Potters?"

"Yes, and my date."

"You were set up with him?" Malfoy asked, but the coolness in his voice was back. Hermione was beginning to recognize the tone.

"Yes."

"Will you press charges?"

"No." She said with a sigh, "I know other ways to make his life a living hell."

"Hm, you always managed to make mine one." He was teasing, she was sure of it, even though his tone was flat.

She scoffed, "I barely tried with you." Giggling before she took another bite, "Where is Scorpius?"

"Grandmother's. I don't want to see how many presents she bought for him while he was there"

"How long has he been there?" Hermione asked, confused.

"I dropped him off at six this evening." Hermione raised her eyebrow but said nothing as she took another bite of ice cream, "There was a reason why I was a spoiled child."

"Was?" She asked with a grin.

"Now I am a spoiled adult."

Her laugh chimed through the apartment.

Another yawn caused her to put down her spoon, "Thank you for staying with me, I needed it."

"You are welcome, will you be fine if I leave?" He asked

She nodded strongly, "I won't have another mental episode, I promise."

"Goodnight then, I will see you soon."

"Yes, we have a meeting on Wednesday."

"Have a good evening, Granger." He said.

"Goodnight Malfoy." Was her response just before he apparated out.


	6. Chapter 6

**So I have been writing like a mad woman for this story and have written several chapters, so you will see updates more periodically. I'll start posting every monday night! I'm super excited about where this is going, this will start heating up!**

* * *

"This is going to be invasive." Hermione said as she talked to Malfoy in her office, "We are going to have to know absolutely everything about you—down to the toothpaste you use. You must not think of me as someone you used to fight with in school, but as a professional. But you have to tell us if we don't find something. The worst thing that could happen is a surprise in court. And it isn't fair, but they will go after your character—so we have to know everything."

She hauled out huge rolls of parchment, "This is what we have so far, most of it is inconsequential, but it's a start."

Malfoy was quiet; "You've seen me at my worst, Granger, so I am sure nothing in there surprises you."

She didn't have to ask, but she knew what he was talking about. She knew he meant when she was at his house. Her mind flashed back to Bellatrix's cackling laughter, and she suppressed the need to shiver.

"Honestly, I was more interested in what you did after the war. Your marks through the healing exams are remarkable." The healing exams were taken after graduation from the healing program. How well you did on the exams placed you in different programs. Malfoy had done exceedingly well; he had the pick of the litter.

She would swear later he blushed, "My father cut me off, I needed to do well in order to get a good position."

Hermione sat down, "But he didn't keep you cut off from the Malfoy fortune."

"No." Malfoy agreed, "My mother convinced him to add me again, and since then we have been on more cordial terms."

"Why does he not want you part of the fortune?" Hermione asked, he looked uncomfortable, "I ask for the trial, not just because I am nosey."

He nodded once stiffly, "My relationship with Astoria is estranged, he wanted me to fix it before I got my fortune back. He eventually realized that it was for my benefit and for hers that we remain separated."

"When does he come back from Azkaban?" Hermione asked, "Now that was me being nosey, St. Mungo's attorney will already know that."

"Four years. He is allowed visitation rights, so my mother sees him regularly."

"But not you?" Hermione asked, her tone had taken on the one of lawyer and she hoped he noticed the difference. He seemed to because answered.

"My father and my relationship remain tense."

"Elaborate."

"My father and I do not see each other." He said with a sneer.

"Don't answer like that, it won't endear you to the jury. And while my argument is that you can be an arse and still deserve equal pay, every little bit counts."

"Is this preparing for questioning?" He sounded defensive.

"I am making sure there is nothing more you'd like to tell me." She said with a tired sigh.

"How can I possibly know that? I don't know what you know."

"I know your NEWTs when you graduated from Hogwarts, I know you broke Goyle's arm your sixth year, I know—"

"How do you know about Goyle?" Malfoy asked.

"I noticed he had a broken arm in his Hogwarts records your sixth year so I had one of my helpers ask him about it—he gave the story." Malfoy looked angry, so Hermione tapped the scrolls, "People are very forth coming when they think they are being helpful, and they tend to make risks they wouldn't normally do."

"Where'd you learn that from?" He growled.

"Harry." She said honestly, sitting back in her chair, "Astoria slammed the door in our face, so you won't have to worry about that one." His body immediately stiffened to the point of pain. He looked like he was about to crawl out of his skin, "You can back out of this anytime when you feel it is getting too personal."

"I will let you know, Granger."

"Mr. Infamous bachelor himself." Mary said as she stepped into the office without knocking, as was her style.

"Malfoy this is Mary, she helps get me information. Mary, Malfoy."

"Draco, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." She extended her hand and he shook it stiffly, "I have heard so much about you."

Draco nodded before sitting back down, Hermione noticed how uncomfortable he looked while Mary sized him up.

"You're taller than I thought you would be."

"Mary, is there a reason why you are in here?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"No, I just wanted to meet him." Mary winked at him before walking out of the office, and Hermione was annoyed with her attitude.

"I'm sorry she is like that." Hermione said.

"Is she the one who went to Goyle?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes, why?"

"I understand now why he gave her the information."

"She is good at her job." Hermione said diplomatically.

"I am surprised you use such tactics."

"I hire people who get the job done." Hermione said, her eyes flashing as she turned to him.

"I didn't mean that as an insult, Granger. Usually it is Gryffindor who is high and mighty."

"I would argue the same from Slytherin." Hermione countered.

He hummed, rubbing his face, "How much more of this do we have?"

"Not much, I know most of the bad things that would come out at trial, but I am going to try to get them removed from testimony. It will probably not happen, but I will try. Do you need training to help take the press?"

"I got enough training during my trial and my father's. I am confident I will be able to handle it."

"I read over your trial, you answered well. Your family lawyer trained you?"

"Yes, he has been our lawyer since before I was born. His training for the press was rigorous."

"Well then I won't intercede unless I see fit." Hermione said.

"Anything else? I need to pick up my son in five minutes."

"Oh sure!" She said, waving him along, "We go live with this in two more weeks, so you have until then to get everything together."

"Of course Granger." He said standing up.

"I'll see you next week? I think is our next meeting."

"Yes, I will see you then."

"Owl me if anything comes up."

"May I leave Granger?" He asked, but it lacked the snide tone she was so used to hearing.

Her cheeks did turn a bit pink at his raised eyebrow, "You can leave."

He smirked before closing the door and leaving her alone.

.

Mary walked in a few seconds after he left, "He was a looker."

"Please don't flirt with him, it is unprofessional." Hermione demanded.

Mary cocked her head, "You don't have this much of an issue with other clients, why is he different?"

"He just is." Hermione said, her eyes narrowing on Mary's. Her stare was assessing her and looking at her a bit differently, "Stop that."

"I will mind myself." Mary said with a raise of her eyebrow before walking out of the room.

.

Hermione sighed, sitting back in her desk and rubbing her head before getting back to work. She just managed to start working again when her door opened.

"Ginny!" She said with surprise, Hermione had been successfully avoiding Ginny since the night of the party. She didn't want to talk to her about anything that had happened to her.

"You're avoiding me."

"Not successfully." Hermione countered, she always did like that about Ginny. She was direct. It was why she could deal with Harry.

"What happened? Jerry won't talk to me."

"That's because your Quidditch friend is an ass." Hermione replied, forgetting his name was Jerry.

"What'd he do?" Ginny asked, exasperated as she sat down across from Hermione.

"He pinned me against the wall, tried to feel me up. I was trying to get my wand when Malfoy threw him off me." Hermione tried to say it as nonchalantly as possible as she shuffled through some parchment.

"He what? You had to reach for your wand?" Ginny said, her expression gone cold, "It was that bad?"

"Yeah, I walked outside to get some air—he was being an ass so I had to step away. He took it as an invitation to get freaky outside. I told him to get off me, but he wasn't listening. He had my hands in a weird position so I couldn't grab my wand. That's when Malfoy showed up and threw him off of me."

Ginny was quiet, "I am so sorry, Hermione. I had no idea he was that much of an asshole. I figured you needed a rebound after Ronald so I didn't get someone with true dating potential. I thought someone you could easily walk away from—I didn't know he was like this."

Hermione took a breath, "I know you wouldn't set someone like that up with me on purpose Ginny. Please don't blame yourself."

"Why didn't you come get me?" Ginny asked.

"You were having fun, and that seemed important at the time. So I was going to floo home, but Malfoy offered to apparate me home since I was not sober enough to do it myself."

"Malfoy did?" Ginny asked, "How does it feel to be grateful to a Malfoy?"

Hermione laughed softly, "I don't know—but he is a lot different than he was. Sometimes it doesn't feel like the same person at all. But then he'll make a comment in that same tone—then I'll see the Malfoy we used to know."

"Have you seen his dark mark?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny!" Hermione cried out.

"What? I want to see one up close, all the ones I ever saw were trying to kill me."

"No I haven't seen it, he usually wears long sleeves."

"I noticed that too." Ginny said with a frown, then she grinned, "Can you ask him if I can see it?"

"No!" Hermione cried out laughing,

"You seem friendly enough, come on! He took you home, so he must be nice enough."

"We ate ice cream."

"You shared your beloved mint chocolate chip ice cream?" Ginny asked.

Hermione laughed, "I let you have some all the time!"

"Yes! But I like to think I get special privileges!"

Hermione was quiet and answered seriously, "I had a terrible night, I just shut the door on Malfoy when I got home and went straight to the ice cream. He knocked on my door and said he didn't think I should be alone."

Ginny was silent, and the silence between them lasted awhile. It wasn't awkward, but both were thinking about the war and how much it had changed them—and how much they had changed since.

"I am glad you took on his case." Ginny said.

"Me too."

"You want to go get a cup of coffee with me?"

"Absolutely." Hermione answered, standing up.

"I am glad we aren't avoiding each other anymore."

Hermione laughed, "I wasn't good at it anyway."

.

"When are you going to go public with his case?" Ginny asked as they sat in a coffee shop near Hermione's office.

"Soon." Hermione answered, "I started reading through his files, but I still have a bunch to go through."

"Oh! Tell me the good stuff." Ginny said excitedly.

"Attorney client privilege." Hermione replied.

Ginny growled, "I hate that."

Hermione laughed, "My clients love it."

"Agh, fine, I won't ask more."

Hermione was surprised when Malfoy came around the corner, a furious look on his face. His fingers were clenched tightly as he glared at Hermione than turned to Ginny.

"I am talking to you, not her." Malfoy said carefully, his face had more color than Hermione had ever seen.

"Malfoy?" Hermione started, but he held up his hand.

"I am talking to the Weaslette."

"That would be Potterette now." Ginny corrected him.

"Someone from work approached me, one of the lawyers for Mungos."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ginny asked.

"Shut up!" He snarled, "Let me finish."

"I am trying to help you!" Ginny growled at him.

"Let him speak, Ginny." Hermione said softly, trying to deescalate the conversation.

"Continue." Ginny said with a wave of her hand.

"Now that I have your permission." Malfoy growled, "I was approached by one of their lawyers who put a spell on me. I cannot speak to any member of Granger's firm or Granger herself. Thankfully they were stupid enough not to include friends."

"Those bastards." Hermione said standing up, "I will have the spell off of you by tonight, give me time to research it first, but this isn't our first one."

"I am going home to my son." He apparated with a snap.

Hermione grabbed her things, "I'll see you later Ginny."

"Yeah, you're busy." Ginny agreed with her.

.

"Why did they put the spell on him?" Neil asked her as they poured over his notes, he had removed a similar spell before and they were trying to figure out what he used to fix it.

"I have no idea, he didn't stick around long enough to ask questions. Plus, I couldn't ask him any questions."

"They must have been triggered by something." Neil murmured.

"I agree, I am just going to have to wait to figure out what."

"I found something—oh here it is Mione." He wrote down on parchment the spell and handed it to her, "You have to be the one to do it, because it specifically says the person to undo the spell has to be one of the ones the spell was cast against."

"Did they not think we would figure this out?" Hermione asked, grabbing her bags to apparate to Malfoy's.

"Arrogance I think. Smart people tend to think they are the smartest in the room."

"Was that a jab?" Hermione asked, a raised eyebrow.

He chuckled, "No—but now that you mention it—"

"Hey!" She cried out, "I don't do that."

"No, you're too smart for that." He said with a friendly grin, making Hermione laugh.

"Thank you Neil for the spell."

"You are welcome, and Hermione?"

"Yes?" She asked, looking up from her bag.

"Do you want to get dinner sometime?" He asked.

She was about to ask when but she stopped. He meant like on a date, not just as friends. She could tell by the way his body was positioned.

"Can I think about it?" She asked.

"Ouch." He replied.

She laughed, "I just had a really bad date, so please don't take offense."

He nodded slowly, "Alright, but I am planning one until you tell me no."

She smiled, "Plan one, I will go."

"Friday night at 7? I'll pick you up. Go take the spell off of Malfoy." He instructed.

"Bye Neil." She called, walking out of the office and apparating out.

.

She knocked on Malfoy's door. When he opened it, he turned red again. It was like the spell was keeping him from opening his mouth. She stepped inside without needing a word from him—he couldn't talk to her anyway.

"Mione!" Scorpius said excitedly.

"Hey Scorp! How are you?" She asked, plopping down on her knees to give him a hug as he barreled into her.

"Good! I love my fish! I named him Herbert—Daddy said that isn't a good fish name but I like it."

"It's a wonderful fish name." Hermione said with a grin.

"See Daddy, I told you she would like it."

Hermione quickly cast the spell and it slammed Malfoy back in his chair.

"Sorry! It has to be a surprise." Hermione defended herself as he sputtered coughs.

"Is Daddy turning blue?" Scorpius asked, and Malfoy's skin was indeed turning blue.

"Side effect of the spell, it should wear off in an hour or so."

"Thanks Granger." Malfoy said, and looked relieved he could say it, "I tried to look up how to get rid of it."

"My boss has run into it before, so he had what we needed. And it has to be cast by a person you're forbidden to talk to."

"Which would be difficult if that person cannot figure out you are under the spell. It is a good thing that lawyer wasn't the brightest."

"Hopefully they will continue being as brilliant in the trial"

He nodded, running his fingers through his hair.

"Mione, I have a school play on Friday. You have to come." Scorpius said excitedly.

"Scorp—"

"I would love to come! What's your play?" Hermione asked.

"We are singing two Halloween songs! I get to sit in the front row."

Hermione laughed, "That sounds brilliant, Scorpius."

"Why don't you go feed your fish, Scorp?"

"But Daddy—

"Do you want them to be hungry? I can hear their bellies growling from here." Malfoy said.

"Daddy! Fishes' tummies don't growl!"

"Yes they do! I can hear them!" Malfoy said, his voice teasing. Hermione felt as if she was intruding on a personal moment, but it was so adorable it was impossible to look away.

"Ok." He grumbled before dashing off down the hall.

.

"It is a school program for his age group to show what they have learned, do not feel obligated to attend."

"Are you kidding? After that invitation I have to go!" Hermione said excitedly, "I don't know why winning the approval of eight year olds is so rewarding, but it is."

"Know many eight year olds?" He asked, his eyebrow rose.

"Teddy just turned eight—Harry's godson."

"I was unaware Potter had a god son."

"Lupin and Tonks had a child right before the battle of Hogwarts. He lives with Andromeda for now, but I think Harry and Ginny will take him in."

"Potter saves the day again." It was not said in the usual scorned tone, but it was still said, so Hermione scowled, "Does he always do the right thing?"

Hermione laughed at the unexpected question, "No. He is an absolute moron when it comes to asking for help, and he won't accept help from anyone."

"You help him."

"That's because I don't give him a choice—I tell Finnick that at least twice a week, not that he listens."

"Finnick?"

"Harry's boss at the auror department."

"I thought Potter was offered the job."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "He refused to take it because he thought they were offering it because of vanquishing Voldemort. He did end up taking the job just below it, finally." Malfoy flinched at the name, but she didn't say anything.

"They did offer it to him because he killed the Dark Lord."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it. He was the idiot still risking his life. Ginny almost burned down the house, they had just moved into it too. I think Harry was scared to go home for weeks."

"Vanquished the Dark Lord but is still scared of his wife?"

Hermione laughed, "Have you met Ginny?" She shook her head, "He took the promotion right after you healed him."

He stood up with a chuckle as he walked into the kitchen. When he opened the freezer, she debated on grabbing her bag and making her exit. He held out a tub of ice cream.

"Do you want some?"

It was the same brand of mint chocolate chip she had.

"Yes! You have the same kind as me."

"Why anyone purchases another brand baffles the mind." He said arrogantly, putting out three bowls.

Malfoy carefully scooped out three bowls of ice cream, put in spoons and walked her ice cream over to the table.

"Scorp! Ice cream." He called.

"Yay!" Hermione could hear Scorpius shout from down the hall, "Yay! Yay!" He cried out with every step to the table, practically tackled the chair to get up to his ice cream.

"It's not going to run away, Scorp." Malfoy chastised.

"It'll melt if I don't eat it fast." Scorp said, sounding like a 'duh' was needed.

Hermione giggled, eating her own, "What time is your concert on Friday?"

"Six." Malfoy answered.

"I will be there."

"Yay! Can I introduce you to my friends?"

"Scorp, Granger is famous in the wizarding world, they won't know who she is."

His smile fell, "I forgot."

"It's ok, I still want to meet your friends." Hermione said, nudging him with her elbow.

"Ok." He said with a big grin.

 **I'm super duper excited for the next chapter! Tell me what you think! Things are going to start amping up soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I am really excited about this next chapter. Things are starting to spark, and I can't wait for you to read it.**

Hermione pulled on her cream cardigan before looking in the mirror. She was wearing a deep green shirt that was cut a little low for her date, but still classic enough to wear to her date with Scorpius. It was going to be a tight squeeze between her dates, but it was going to be worth it.

Malfoy had owled her the address of the school, so she apparated a safe distance away and began to walk up. Malfoy was coming out of the school to get her as Scorpius was dropped off early. They were to meet by the large tree in front of the school at five forty five.

"Granger." His deep voice catching her by surprise before she turned to look at him.

"You scared me!" She cried out.

"I noticed you didn't see me." He said, "Shall we go in?"

"Yes, of course!" She said excitedly.

"They are eight, Granger. It is hardly going to be a riveting performance."

"Don't let Scorp here you say that." She chastised, making him smirk.

"He is already inside." He pulled gently on the green sleeve that was poking out from under the cardigan, "I didn't know Slytherin colors were in your wardrobe."

Hermione laughed, "I couldn't avoid it forever. I'm sure you have maroon socks somewhere."

"Salayzar may it never happen." He swore, making Hermione laugh as she walked in with him.

.

They sat next to each other in the auditorium, sitting on folded plastic chairs. Hermione noticed the Mother's, and a few Father's, stares at Malfoy as she walked in, but she didn't think he noticed the same.

The lights flickered and different mom's with video tapes stopped chatting with each other and looked to the stage.

.

As soon as the lights went off, Hermione couldn't describe it. It was like the air had come alive between her and Malfoy. As the young children filtered across the stage in four rows, Hermione's breath increased.

Shaking her head, she was determined to ignore it.

The first part of the show seemed to be showing what they had learned so far this year. The teacher got up and spoke about how proud she was of all the students. Scorpius gave a big wave over to the two of them. Malfoy nodded, but Hermione waved just as big back at him. Scorpius grinned that much wider.

"He's adorable." Hermione whispered, leaning up in her seat more, hoping the space would ease the tension between the two of them.

It didn't help.

The first half of the show was torture. The most pleasant of sorts. Her entire body was tingling, and she was breathing heavy. But it was confusing, did he feel the same tension? She wasn't sure if he did, and by the time she tried to notice him—it was intermission.

The lights came on, and the tension fizzled to a low simmer.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Hermione murmured, getting her escape. She noticed his shoulders relaxed instantly as she did. Or did she make that up? Was he excited she was leaving or did he notice the same thing?

.

Hermione shook her head, trying to clear it as she walked into the bathroom. Of course there was a line.

The two women were looking at her, so she smiled awkwardly before looking around.

"You came with Scorpius's dad." One accused.

"Yeah." Hermione said, nodding.

"We have wanted to get to know him better! We ask him to different class events, but he seems to keep to himself. What happened to his wife?" One asked, Hermione couldn't believe the nerve.

"He raises Scorp by himself."

"And you're his girlfriend?" Another asked.

How unbelievably nosy.

"I came with Draco because Scorpius asked." She said, the friend noticed Hermione's tone.

"We're just so curious about him. He seems so to himself, and Scorpius is such a nice young man."

"Scorpius is a nice young man." Hermione nearly growled, "If you two are so curious about Draco, why don't you just ask him yourself?"

"Oh, you know how it is, didn't want to walk up to him." One said in a friendly tone, but she noticed they both took a step back. A bathroom stall opened, so Hermione slid in.

She was still fuming as she walked out and washed her hands.

"How long have you known Draco?" A woman asked her, not one from earlier.

Was Draco a celebrity here? "Uh—since we were eleven." Hermione answered.

"Oh! So you know his wife? Ex-wife?"

"Ex—and yes I know her."

"What happened? Poor Scorpius must have been devastated."

"He is dealing appropriately. Thank you." Hermione growled before drying off her hands and promptly leaving.

She practically stomped back to her seat and gave a menacing glare to every woman who looked her way with a curious eye. Plopping down in her chair, she crossed her arms.

"What happened?" Malfoy asked.

"People just have their noses in places they don't belong." She huffed.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Everyone has lots of questions about the single father." She growled, "And apparently I am the target since I came here."

"I apologize if that makes you uncomfortable." Malfoy said.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Not your fault, just nosy people. Who I reminded that it wasn't their business."

"Thank you for defending my honor." He said, his eyes teasing, making her relax and grin.

"It's my job." She teased back, and suddenly that tension boiled up again, just in time for the lights to flicker and the intermission to end.

.

The second half was songs, in which Scorpius was amazing. His large hand motions were better than all of the other children, and his voice was incredible.

In Hermione's unbiased opinion.

Hermione laughed at Scorpius's theatrics with the songs, looking back to Malfoy who just shook his head.

"Doesn't get it from me." He murmured.

Hermione giggled, "I remember an eleven year old boy who was very fond of theatrics."

Malfoy scoffed, fixing his black blazer, "I was never dramatic."

Hermione laughed again, keeping her giggles quiet before turning back to watch Scorpius.

.

She was instantly up on her feet when the show ended, determined to put more distance between her and Malfoy to ease the tension before his son showed up.

"Mione did you watch me!" Scorpius said as he ran up to her, she dropped to her knees to accept his tackle. She almost fell backwards due to the force of the hug.

"You. Were. Amazing!" Hermione cried out, hugging him tightly.

"Daddy did you see me!" Scorpius jumped out of her arms and Malfoy scooped him up.

"Course I did, didn't you see me wave?" Malfoy asked,

"Dad! You didn't wave, Mione did." Scorpius said,

"No, that was me." Malfoy said, looking confused.

"Daddy!" Scorpius said with a giggle, "Can we get ice cream?"

"I think your performance has earned it." Malfoy said, "There is an ice cream place down the block." He told Hermione, who nodded. Scorpius wiggled out of his father's arms, pulling on Hermione.

"Mr. Malfoy." One of Scorpius's teachers came up, not the main teacher Ms. Mickle but one of the others.

"Ms. Flower, Mione said I was amazing!" Scorpis said, bouncing up and down.

"You were amazing!" Ms. Flower said, smiling, "Your son is a joy, as always." She said, her eyes roaming all over Draco, making Hermione clench her fists. Wasn't she supposed to be teaching Scorpius and not eye-fucking his father?

"Thank you, Ms. Flower."

"Are you and Scorpius coming to the reception?" She asked, Hermione frowned at the woman blatantly ignoring her.

"No, Hermione and I are taking Scorpius for ice cream." Malfoy said, Hermione's eyes widened at the use of her first name.

"How do you know Mr. Malfoy?" Ms. Flower asked Hermione, her eyes flashed something of jealousy.

"I met Draco in school."

"Dad!" Scorpius groaned, "I want ice cream."

"Alright, thank you for your help Ms. Flower." Malfoy said with a nod and walked behind Scorpius as the three walked out of the school.

.

Hermione was quiet, not sure what to do with her being angry at Scorpius's teacher. Why did she behave like that? She huffed, staring at her feet.

"So, you called me Draco." Malfoy said casually,

She shrugged, "You called me Hermione."

His eyes looked shocked a second before he smirked, "So I did."

"Mione! This place has my favorite ice cream!" Scorpius said, jumping up and down.

"What's your favorite?" Hermione asked.

"Chocolate!" He squealed, dragging her into the store.

There wasn't a line, so Hermione and Scorpius walked right up to the counter. Scorpius decided then he wanted to be shy with the cashier as he hid behind her leg when the ice cream scooper waved at him.

"What is your name?" The young woman asked.

Scorpius looked up at Hermione, who nodded encouragement, "Scorpius." He said quietly.

"That's a cool name, I have a boring name. It's Molly." She said, her braids swinging as she leaned over the counter, "What can I get for you Scorpius?"

Scorpius nudged Hermione, who giggled at his antics, "Scorp, I know you know the answer."

"Chocolate." He murmured into her pants.

"Was that Strawberry?" Molly asked, her bright eyes teasing.

Scorpius grinned as he shook his head, "Chocolate." He said a bit louder.

"Ah, well we have the best chocolate ice cream." Molly said, standing up, "And for your Mom?"

"Oh, not his Mom, but mint chocolate chip." Hermione said with an awkward grin, "What would your Dad want—and where did he go?"

"He got a call on his mobile phone, so he's outside." Scorpius said, "He'll want mint chocolate chip too." Molly nodded.

"I didn't know your Dad had a phone." Hermione said with a grin,

"He just got it so he can be like muggles."

If Molly was confused by Scorpius's word choice, she said nothing. Hermione gave her the money then gave Scorpius his ice cream, keeping hers and Malfoy's. Scorpius led them to a booth.

"Did you like my songs?" Scorpius asked,

"Yes!" Hermione said, taking a bite of her ice cream, "Your hand motions were excellent!"

Scorpius giggled, "Which one did you like better?"

"I liked the second one better." Hermione said, looking up as someone walked in the front door. She waved to Malfoy who looked around for them, "Got your ice cream, Scorpius said mint chocolate chip."

Malfoy slid into the booth next to her and took his ice cream, humming as he bit, "You were awesome Scorp, better than everyone else."

"Malfoy!" She cried out.

"You were thinking it." He said with a grin, "In fact, I think you said it."

"Now I know why you had a superiority complex." Hermione said, a larger grin on her face.

That is when she saw the clock.

"Shit." She grumbled, "I got to go." She nudged Malfoy. Her stomach dropped. She was already fifteen minutes late for her date. She had never been this late in her life.

"Goodbye Mione!" Scorpius said, but there was a frown on his face.

"Don't worry, Scorp! I'll see you soon, I promise." Hermione had crawled out of the booth and nearly tripped getting out. Strong hands grabbed her as her face turned bright red.

"You alright?" He asked, keeping her upright. She nodded, avoiding eye contact at trying not to think about how delicious his touch felt.

"Yes, thank you." She tried to look up at him, but took the coward's way up as she flattened her sweater, "I'll see you this week at the press conference so we can finally stop sneaking around." She almost winced at the other meaning of that sentence, but she plowed forward, "And I'll see you soon."

"When is soon?" Scorpius asked.

"I am hosting a Halloween party next weekend, want to come?" Hermione asked, looking to Malfoy as well.

"YES! Daddy got me a Batman Costume!" Scorpius said,

"Is that a good idea?" Malfoy asked Hermione.

"Yes, you'll be fine. It's not that many people—plus, Scorp can meet Teddy. I think he is going as Superman, so you two can save the world together."

"Batman and Superman don't get along." Malfoy pointed out.

"I am surprised you know that, but I don't think Teddy and Scorp will be you and Harry. Come next weekend—I'll convince you at the press conference on Thursday morning." She grinned, "Now I really have to go."

Hermione leaned down and kissed Scorpius's head, "Why can't you stay?"

"I'd honestly rather stay." Hermione admitted, "But I was guilt tripped into a date, which means I must go."

"A date?" Malfoy asked.

"Goodbye you two—and Scorp?" Hermione leaned into to whisper, "You were the best one."

He giggled and Hermione waved before nearly running out of the store and down the street so she could apparate.

.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Hermione showed up by her flat, finding Neil outside.

"I was just about to give up on you." Neil said with a grin.

"I had an ice cream date before this." Hermione admitted.

"Do I need to worry?"

"He was eight, so I think you're in the clear." Purposefully omitting the fact that his father fell under the 'it's complicated' answer. She desperately needed to tell Ginny what happened, but it'd have to wait until after dinner.

.

Neil took her to a popular restaurant in Diagon alley, and she couldn't help but feel disappointed. It seemed so—such a typical date. She was trying to listen to what he was saying during dinner, but she found herself constantly distracted. There was no spark between them. Sure, he was definitely handsome, but nothing made her want to lunge out and touch him.

In fact, when he finally did take her hand, it felt forced and awkward. She nearly pulled her hand away.

When she politely declined dessert, she knew Neil knew she wasn't interested.

.

When he walked her up to her door, Hermione turned to him with a grin that had her lips pressed together, "Thank you for dinner Neil."

"But not another one, I am assuming?" He asked.

She shook her head, "Maybe it's a bit too awkward to date your boss."

"That is fair enough, Ms. Granger." His tone was light, but his face was disappointed.

"I'm sorry Neil."

"Don't be sorry!" He said, flipping his hair back, "But it was still a good time."

"It was, thanks Neil." She said with a nod.

.

Hermione waited until she heard him apparate before she apparated to The Potter house.

"Ginny!" She knocked on the door.

"Hey!" Ginny said, opening the door, "How'd your date with Neil go?"

"Horrible!" Hermione cried out as she walked in the door, "Is Harry here?"

"No, he is out being a fantastic bloody auror far away from me." Ginny grumbled, "Wine? I already opened a bottle."

"Excellent, it'll wash down my bad date."

"That bad?" Ginny asked, "But he is so pretty."

"He is the kind of pretty that sits back and makes you do all the work. And his hands were slimy." Hermione shook her head.

"You'll have to do better than that." Ginny said with her eyebrow raised.

"You'll never believe it." Hermione said, draining her glass and sliding her glass back for more.

Ginny grinned devilishly as she poured Hermione another glass, "Oh! Tell me!"

"I'm serious, you'll think I'm delusional—I'm not sure I'm not delusional." Hermione said. Ginny pushed the glass back, and Hermione glared at it.

"Come on! Tell me!" Ginny said.

"Nope, I am crazy." Hermione said, groaning as she put her head on the counter top, "I'm giving up and becoming a nun."

"That's absolutely no fun." Ginny said with a frown.

"I had a date tonight."

"I know, it went terrible."

"Before that date." She said.

"With who?"

"Well, it was kind of a date. Not a date at all really."

"Hermione! Spill it!" Ginny demanded.

"I went with Malfoy to see Scorpius's play at school." Hermione admitted, looking up at her.

"You had a date with Malfoy." Ginny said, her eyes wide before she drained her glass, "We are going to have to drink something stronger than wine to have this conversation."

"I told you—I'm crazy. And it wasn't really a date! It was us meeting together at his son's school to watch his play. Technically, I was invited by Scorpius."

"Oh my god, you had a date with Malfoy." Ginny said, pouring herself more wine.

"And I invited him to my Halloween party on Saturday."

"Scorpius and Teddy should get along." Ginny said with a grin, "And at least that means Teddy will be distracted—that should work well."

"And Malfoy will be there." Hermione said, slipping down in her chair.

"How was your—gathering—a date?" Ginny asked.

"I can't explain it, other than when the lights were dimmed when the kids took stage, it felt like everything was on fire." Hermione shook her head, "I felt like I was going to suffocate. And then there is the nearly always teasing and constant flirting. If it was nearly anyone else, I wouldn't question it—but because it's Malfoy."

Ginny shook her head, "You sure do catch 'em."

"And he called me Hermione today." Hermione shook her head, "Please tell me I am crazy."

"So all that happened and then you went on a date with Neil."

"No spark, the restaurant was dim and I sat right next to him. I feel more sparks from you."

Ginny grinned, "That's not a fair assessment for Neil, I'm positively full of sparks."

"Tell me I am crazy."

"I don't know, Mione, I'd have to see it."

"Well, you will on Saturday." Hermione said with a frown, closing her eyes, "I think I am just going to slam my head into a wall, that might be more fun than trying to figure out whatever the hell happened today." Her eyes flashed open, "Please don't tell Harry."

"Oh, no way in hell." Ginny said, "You get the pleasure of doing that all by yourself." She toasted Hermione before sipping her glass.

"It's probably nothing, and I am freaking out for no reason."

"I agree." Ginny said strongly, "Plus, that is the easiest option."

"Because my entire life has always been about the easy option." Hermione said, then shook her head, "I'm being melodramatic, I'll go."

"Don't be ridiculous, stay and lets finish the bottle. Then you can go."

Hermione was grateful she stayed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Another update! Things are progressing nicely, so please do enjoy this next chapter**

* * *

Hermione pulled out her jacket that she had dry cleaned before today. The press conference was today. She hadn't seen Malfoy since the week prior, and now that she had space she was absolutely convinced she made everything up.

"Your client is here." Mary said, walking into the office.

"Send him in." Hermione said, taking one last look at herself before turning toward the door.

When he walked in, Hermione nearly stopped breathing. Why did he have to look delectable in a black suit? His hair was slicked back, but she noticed the small signs of nervousness.

"Don't be nervous." She said with an easy smile, handing him a cup of tea.

"It's just my entire career on the line." He said, letting out a breath.

Hermione nodded, "You deserve to have a career that reflects your immeasurable talent."

His cocky grin made her smile, "I think it was worth it just for you to call me immeasurably talented. Can you say it again?"

She laughed, moving to fix his jacket. As soon as she touched him, the tension became so thick in the air she could hardly breathe, "There, now you're ready." Her voice was softer, "Now I know we trained for your interview, but are there any last questions?"

"No, but I will say this." His eyebrow raised as he looked down at her, "I am placing the rest of my life in your hands, and I do trust you."

"I'm not completely infallible." She admitted, "But I am glad you put your faith in me. I will win this one, Draco. Not just because I like winning, but you whole-heartedly deserve it. And I want to see what you can do with full amount of resources and immeasurable talent."

"I knew I could get you to say 'immeasurably talented' again." He said with a grin.

Hermione laughed, "Let's go, Malfoy. We have a press conference to attend!"

.

The light bulbs were already flashing as Hermione and Malfoy made their way up to the podium. Every big news outlet in the wizarding world had been invited to attend.

"This morning, charges have been filed on behalf of Draco Lucius Malfoy against his employer, St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I have not been secretive in my stance that I believe former Death Eaters deserve a chance to put their past behind them and move forward. Unfortunately, bias has forced these hard working witches and wizards into compromising their work, their integrity, and their growth as new citizens in this changed world.

"All I ask is for my client, Draco Lucius Malfoy, get his chance to put his past behind him and become a fully functioning member of society. We are suing St Mungo's for prejudicial behavior. Are their any questions?"

The babble of the reporters was blaring, but Hermione pointed to one that she had worked with before, "James Luis, Wizard Business Times, St Mungos is the only reputable wizarding hospital in the Europe. Are you willing to anger them just to settle a suit?"

"We won't be settling for less than an open admission of guilt, and several galleons for my client. Mr. Malfoy has been wronged, and deserves to be compensated for it." Hermione nodded to another reporter.

"Susan Little, Witch Weekly. How does Mr. Malfoy feel about being represented by a muggle born?" A reporter asked. Hermione opened her mouth to respond, "We'd like to hear from the client, Ms. Granger."

Hermione turned to Malfoy, who stepped up beside her. His hands were shaking, but Hermione could do nothing to comfort him. The thought alone struck her as odd, she had never wanted to physically comfort a client before.

"If I had problems with my lawyer being a muggle born, I wouldn't have accepted Ms. Granger's help. Who, in case you did not know, is a muggle born." He said with a small smile, "It is no secret where my family stood during the War, it is also no secret I have worked tirelessly to turn around my family's reputation— for myself, and for my son. I am not asking for your forgiveness, my family has destroyed people's lives and I know I have no right to apologize or ask for forgiveness. All I ask is for the opportunity to have equal pay for equal work, and a chance for my son to grow up in a world where he is not set aside for the sins of his father."

Hermione was standing close enough to him to block her actions. She couldn't help it. She moved her hand out so her fingers were close enough to feel the heat of his hands. A twitch of his hand brushed his fingers against hers, and the action was enough to comfort him.

"Are you good enough to work at St. Mungos, Mr. Malfoy?" A reporter asked, "Or did your family gain you the position?"

"I earned the position through my superior healing scores, which are public record if any of you wish to look at them, and hard work. Anyone with my level of expertise as been moved to higher ranking positions. At first, I knew my past would be an issue so I did not complain, but when St. Mungos harmed patients due to their inability to look beyond my past, I came forward."

"That will be all for questions, thank you." She said, letting go of his hand as the two walked away from the podium.

.

"You were excellent." Hermione complemented, pouring him a drink. His hands were still shaking as he sat in her office, but he was doing a good job and concealing it.

"Did you expect less?"

"No." She said with a grin, handing him a glass.

"Scotch?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A lawyer's office has to have the strong stuff." Hermione said with a shrug, taking a sip of her own as she sat on her desk, "This is going to be the difficult part. There will be people stalking your every movement. I have arranged a way to get Scorpius to school without detection—I don't think we need wizarding paparazzi outside of a muggle school."

He nodded, taking a sip, "I've handled bad press before."

"I know." She grinned, "Now onto happier topics—you ready for the party on Saturday?"

"Are you sure it is all right to be there, Granger?" He asked, his tone uncertain, "No surprises if Potter is going to be there."

"He will be there."

She had actually had an interesting conversation with Harry about Malfoy coming this week. It had been tense and Harry had tried to talk Hermione out of it, but it hadn't worked. He had never been able to talk her out of anything, so it was no harm.

"And Potter is alright with this? He prefers me to help his patients, but being in a home with his Potterette and god son is different."

"You will be fine, unless you're scared?" She goaded him.

"That tactic will only work on Gryffindors who are hell bent to lunge into awkward and terrifying situations without blinking."

"You think a party at my flat will be awkward and terrifying?"

He growled, "Fine, only because Scorpius will be upset if we don't come. He has been asking me about it every day."

Hermione laughed, "We are carving pumpkins too, so be prepared."

"Who will be there?"

"George, Angelina, Ron, Ginny, Harry, Teddy and myself." He still looked uncomfortable, "We can come up with a code word, so if you're super uncomfortable I can get you out."

"No, I will survive. The only issue will be Angelina—I cursed her friend." Malfoy ran his hands through his hair awkwardly.

"Oh yes, I'll speak with her. If you're uncomfortable—"

"No, I said I'll come and I will—I don't understand why you're pushing this." He growled standing up.

Hermione knew when to back off, so she held up her hands, "See you on Saturday then."

He walked out the door in anger, but Hermione felt like it was all a front.

xxXXxx

"Hot babe! Coming through!" George called as she walked into the shop. Hermione laughed as his antics when he kissed her cheek, "Saw your press conference, you looked sexy as always."

"Thanks George." She said with a blush, "But I am actually here to see Angelina—she here?"

"Yeah, she popped by after practice." Hermione had to act surprised, but she always did, "She's up stairs."

"Thanks George." Hermione said, taking the steps up.

Angelina was still in her Quidditch robes, lounging in George's armchair.

"Hey, Angelina." Hermione said, walking in.

"Thought you were Ronald," Angelina said with a frown, "He is here, if you are looking for him."

"No." Hermione said stiffly, "I was actually looking for you."

"What's up?" She asked.

"I am working with Malfoy as a client." Instantly Angelina's face darkened, and Hermione was wary of it, "The press conference was this morning."

"Yes, I saw. What of it?"

"He will be at my flat on Saturday with his son Scorpius for my Halloween party."

"You invited the man who cursed my best friend?" She asked with a growl.

"Yes, I did." Hermione said strongly.

Angelina sighed, "You aren't going to back down on this one, are you?"

"No."

"Fine, I'll be nice."

"Honestly, you don't even have to be nice to Malfoy, you will have to be to Scorpius. He is fantastic. All I ask is for you to be cordial—that's it."

Angelina nodded, "Thank you, for not asking more."

"I am asking everyone just to be cordial."

"I can do that, Mione." Angelina said, her smile changing, "Now, do you want to hear how I have been making Ron's life a living hell?"

Hermione laughed, "Yes, tell me everything!"

* * *

Short update, but I rather like this chapter. Just enough to add to the tension and keep up the teasing! Hope you enjoyed, please review.


	9. Chapter 9

**So I am a little nervous posting this chapter as I am excited. This is when I am going to start deviating from what is written and add my own flair to the characters/story. This story is rated M for a reason, so please keep that in mind when you read this next chapter. If this offends you for any reason, please feel free not to read it.**

* * *

Hermione wiped flour off her face as she put the last batch of cookies in the oven, her main course being kept warm through magic. She heard the floo go, so she turned around.

"Batman!" She cried out excitedly.

"Mione!" Scorpius said with a giggle, pulling off his mask, "It's me!"

"Scorpius!" She said with a laugh, walking out around her counter so she could drop to her knees and accept his hug, "No costume, Malfoy?"

"I wasn't aware I should dress up." He said.

"I think I am the only adult dressing up—though I wouldn't put it past Ginny to wear a slutty nurse costume."

"What's that?" Scorpius asked.

"A muggle healer." Hermione answered vaguely, she turned to Malfoy, "I have a large Gryffindor t-shirt. I can make you a Gryffindor student." His death glare only made Hermione laugh. The timer went off so she jumped, "Scorp, want to help me pull the cookies out? Then we can decorate them."

"Yeah!" He said excitedly, so he followed Hermione into the kitchen.

Hermione poured Malfoy a glass of wine just after pulling the cookies out, "For the nerves."

"Thanks."

"Mione, please tell Harry that just because he is the chosen one doesn't mean he can do whatever he wants!" Ginny growled, "Hello, Malfoy." She greeted, sitting next to him like she did it all the time.

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"He convinced my Quidditch captain to let me take of Quidditch practice even though it is forbidden so we can go to Italy next week on a wine tour."

"I'm sorry, are you complaining about a vacation?" Hermione asked, pouring her wine.

"Yes, when it is because his ego of the chosen one got him that way." Ginny cried out.

"Are you Ginny Potter?" Scorpius asked, and Ginny looked surprised, looking down at him.

"Yes"

Scorpius removed his mask, "I have your action figure! You do the coolest tricks!"

"Thanks Scorpius."

"How do you know my name?" He asked as he crawled up onto the barstool.

"Hermione has told me all about you, and how great you are! She said your play was awesome and you had the best voice." Scorpius giggled, "Harry is bringing his god son Teddy, he is about your age."

"Does he go to school?" Scorpius asked.

"He does." Ginny said with a laugh.

"We're here!" Harry said as he stepped out of the floo with Teddy, who was sporting black hair to match Harry's.

"Teddy!" Hermione cried out, "You have to come help Scorpius and I ice the cookies."

"I'm not Scorpius!" Scorpius cried, putting his mask back on, "I'm batman!"

"I'm Superman!" Teddy said, running around the counter to help Hermione, and Scorpius climbed down from the chair to help her as well.

.

Hermione conjured up two bar stools so each of the little ones could stand up high enough to ice the pumpkin and ghost cookies. "Now these ones get white frosting and those get orange ones, okay?" Both young boys nodded, "Batman, it may be easier to do this without your mask on." Scorpius handed her his mask, and she set it aside. She helped both boys with the frosting knives to spread it on the cookies carefully, "Harry, do you need a glass?"

"I can get it Mione." He said, surprising her by being right behind her, he kissed her forehead before grabbing a glass, "Malfoy, your work on Grimmer was incredible. That hole in his stomach was huge."

"Nasty bit of spell work, how'd it happen?"

"House raid, tripped off an alarm."

"Not so much icing, Teddy." Hermione corrected.

"Why do we always come here, Mione, you have the tiniest flat of all of us?" George said as he brought in Angelina.

"Because I'm the only one that volunteers to host." Hermione said, licking frosting off her fingers.

"And because you love hosting." Angelina added.

"Wine is on the table, George no eating until we all get here—and here are some glasses." She said, floating them toward the pair. She heard a snap.

"OW!" George cried out.

"I put a charm over the food to keep you from eating it George!"

"Why?" He cried out.

"Last time, you ate all the potatoes before dinner."

"I was hungry, I'm a growing boy."

"That's what Daddy says when I eat all my food." Scorpius said, "But you aren't a boy, Mister." His answer made the entire room laugh.

"Batman, I am surprised you are here." George said solemnly, and Scorpius giggled.

"Malfoy, if you are going to be here, you might as well contribute." Ginny said, bringing up the elephant in the room, "And right now, I'd like you to do what you usually do and try to deflate Harry's ego—so you're on my side for this fight."

Hermione almost wanted to cringe at Ginny's statement, but it made Malfoy laugh.

"I'll take your side, Potterette, but it will cost you."

"Hm, how much?" She asked.

"Bottle of wine."

"How expensive?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Your discretion on how well I argue."

Ginny's eyes lit up, "I like it, I accept your cost."

"Potter, you were unable to use your status as the chosen one to be promoted, but you were willing to use them to con your way into getting a vacation? Next time, use your status to be promoted as well."

"I like him, Mione, can we keep him?" Ginny said, nearly purring.

"Ginny, you're a married woman." Hermione teased.

"Yes, but I like pets." She said, winking at Malfoy who unashamedly winked back.

"You can pet me anytime you want Red." He said, making Ginny laugh.

"Now I am definitely keeping him, I am glad you crawled out from whatever hole you were under to be here."

"It was actually a batcave." Hermione corrected.

Ron flooed into the apartment and glared at everyone in the room. It was quiet as he stared at Hermione but didn't say anything else.

"Hermione, can I speak with you?" Ron's face was red, so she knew he was pissed. She nodded, making sure everyone was fine before following him into her bedroom.

He closed the bedroom door and threw a silencing charm around it.

"What is this?" He asked, exploding as he threw an article.

 _Granger dates Boss_ —the article went on to ask if she was exempt from the rules of society, which meant it was bad form to date her boss.

"It isn't against the rules for me to date him, this article is ridiculous—but it is Witch Weekly."

"So you admit to dating him?"

"I admit to having one date with him." Hermione snapped, "It's not any of your business."

"But I was right you were cheating on me with him!" He exploded, his yelling made her take a step back.

"I WAS NOT" She yelled, "HE asked me out once, and this is the only date we've ever been on!"

"Admit it! You were fucking him behind my back."

"Ronald." She growled, flipping her wand on him, "Get out of my flat. Now."

"Not before you admit it."

She threw him in a body bind curse and he fell flat to the ground. Putting a floating curse on his body, she opened the door and floated him towards the floo. She didn't look at anyone before yelling, "Ronald Weasley's apartment."

His body left.

"If someone feels so inclined to lift the body bind curse off of him once they want to leave, I'd be grateful. Because I am not doing it." She growled to the silent room.

"What'd he do this time?" George asked, handing her a glass of wine.

"Accused me of cheating on him with Neil—again." She growled.

"He's projecting." Ginny said.

"I agree—but Witch Weekly caught a picture of Neil and I on our date, so it was apparently all the proof he needed."

"Please don't actually say you are dating him." Angelina said, all eyes turned to her, "He is pretty, but dull as powder."

"Date went terrible, I told him I was not seeing him again." Hermione admitted, trying to keep the red from her cheeks. She waved her hand, "I don't want to talk about Ronald. I want to carve pumpkins."

.

The entire group was standing around the table carving pumpkins after eating a very filling and delicious meal, Harry helping Teddy and Mafloy helping Scorpius.

"Be careful Ted." Harry said, helping him with the knife.

"We could use magic." Ginny reminded.

"The pumpkins don't ever look as good if you use magic." Angelina argued.

"Uh—this may be a bad time to mention this, but I think I just cut my finger." George said.

"Are you kidding?" Angelina asked, "I can never tell."

"No, I really did." George said, pulling out a bloody finger.

"Shit." Angelina murmured, grabbing paper towels, "You nearly cut your finger off! George!"

"I was using magic to help with the cutting, didn't realize my finger got in the way. So I'll have a stubby finger to match my missing ear."

"We should go see a healer." Angelina said.

"Let me see." Malfoy interrupted,

"Why should you see it?" Angelina asked tersely.

"I am a healer." He said calmly, his wand already out, "Not bad, but this is going to hurt." He murmured a spell and the finger seemed to reattach itself. George hissed, but otherwise did nothing. The skin sewed up good as new.

"Not even a scar! Awesome!" George said, "Thanks Malfoy."

He nodded.

"You're an idiot." Angelina said, whacking the back of George's head.

"Your finger looked like Nearly Headless Nick." Hermione said.

"Ew, Mione." Ginny said.

"True." George said with a grin.

.

Hermione clapped looking at all the carved pumpkins.

"Everyone did such a great job—George is that blood on your pumpkin?"

"I was using props that I had on hand." He said with a grin.

"Ew." She grinned.

"Now let's crack open the good stuff, Mione!" Ginny demanded. Hermione grinned, pulling out her famous Halloween mixed drink from the refrigerator.

"Things are about to get weird." George told Malfoy with a wink.

"Do I want to know what's in it?" He asked.

"No, but its fantastic." Harry said. Hermione was quick to pour in the mix drink to each person's cup.

"Happy Halloween everyone." She said with a grin, toasting her glass.

"Happy Halloween!" Was the resounding call before cups were drained and new ones were promptly filled.

.

The evening was great fun, most of the time they just sat around the table and talked. Scorpius and Teddy seemed to entertain themselves with different toys that were brought with them. The two got along well, though Hermione wasn't sure if Malfoy would like that or not.

Hermione's Halloween punch was a hit as always, and she was definitely feeling it.

"How's the Paris shop going, George? I saw the numbers last week it seems to be going well." Malfoy asked.

"Well, but not as well as I'd like. You follow the business news of the store?"

Malfoy nodded, "I thought about approaching you to invest in the store—I run Malfoy Enterprises now that my father is in Azkaban—but I didn't think I'd be a welcome investor." Malfoy admitted, Hermione was pretending to clean in the kitchen, but she was waiting to hear what George would say.

George laughed, "We would absolutely take your money." He grinned, "Come by the store and we can talk figures—bring one of your lawyers and I'll bring mine. And Hermione, you can stop doing that thing where you are only pretending to do other things but are making sure we are saying the right thing—I passed."

"I thought she only did that with me." Malfoy said.

George laughed, "No, she does it with everyone."

"Someone has to keep an eye on you George Weasley. And I try to keep two, as often as I can spare them." Hermione argued.

"Daddy, can Teddy sleep over?" Scorpius asked, pulling on his Malfoy's black sweater.

"I've got early meetings tomorrow, Scorp, maybe next time."

"We can take Scorp to our house, I'm home tomorrow anyway. If that's all right with you?" Ginny asked.

"Please Daddy?" Scorpius asked.

"Alright." He conceded, though he already looked as if he regretted it.

"YAY!" Scorpius and Teddy both squealed. Hermione laughed at their antics, she knew they would get along.

"Stop looking so smug, Mione." Ginny said.

"I knew they'd get along."

"Just like you know everything." Harry complained.

"I am the brightest witch of our age." Hermione clipped back, a grin on her face.

"I don't know how your and Harry's ego can fit in the same room." Ginny whined.

"Here I thought you were immune to each other's faults." Malfoy said.

Ginny shook her head, "No, no, Malfoy. We just use it to our advantage. See Harry—I use it to get out of Quidditch practice. Hermione, I just wait until she gets annoyed with what I am doing and does it herself."

"I feel like we are being teamed up on." Harry said with a grin to Hermione.

"We took down a Dark Lord together Harry, your wife and Malfoy will not be too difficult." Hermione argued, making everyone laugh.

"Fight with me on the Quidditch pitch, Mione and we will see who is laughing." Ginny said with a grin, then turned to Malfoy, "We will have a game of pick up Quidditch in two weeks if you want to join us."

"Granger plays?" Malfoy looked confused.

"No, I read and watch, like always."

"We could use another player—Bill is busy with his kid so he only can come every so often." George said.

"Come, Mione will pester you into it anyway." Ginny said.

"I don't pester." Hermione said, making nearly everyone at the table burst out laughing, and she covered her red face, "Alright, I do."

"It's why we love you, Mione." George said, kissing her red cheek, "Angelina and I are headed out."

"Have a good night!" Hermione said, starting to pick up glasses.

"We'll take the boys to bed at our house—they look knackered." Ginny said, "Night Mione." She waved.

"Bye Daddy!" Scorp waved and was off with Ginny before Malfoy could say goodbye.

"I'll probably see you this week, Malfoy, we got another raid coming up."

"Try not to get hurt, Potter, I don't need Potterette after me."

Harry laughed, "I'm glad everyone's afraid of my wife, night Mione."

.

He flood home, leaving just Malfoy behind. The tension became so thick with just the two of them that Hermione was glad he was sitting at the table and she was cleaning in the kitchen, otherwise she was sure she would have choked.

"I'm off, Granger." Malfoy said, standing up.

"Thanks for coming, Malfoy. We have a first sit down with St Mungos' lawyers on Tuesday."

"Right, I'll be there." Malfoy said before standing in the floo and leaving.

.

Hermione shrugged, figuring she had made it up again. Figured that she was the only one that felt it, because obviously he wasn't ruffled at all. She cleaned up the muggle way, making sure her counter was clear of all left over frosting.

Taking the pumpkins people had left, she put them in her windows, keeping them lit. She was still feeling the effects of her Halloween mixed drink. The pitcher had a little bit left in it, so she poured it out.

The sound of the floo had her looking back up, "Malfoy?" He had obviously had a few more drinks before he came back, and he had a glass in his hand.

"There's something your files didn't catch that I am nervous will come out at trial." He confessed. Hermione blinked owlishly before standing up.

"Then let's talk about it."

"I—I can't—I never have." He confessed, plopping down on her couch, "The only reason why I have been able to tell you that much is because of the alcohol."

"Would you find it easier to tell someone else I work with? Mary and Rachel know your files—"

"No." He interrupted.

Hermione sighed, sitting on the ground next to his legs. She found it easier with some clients for them not to have to confess something to a face, so she wouldn't look at him to make it easier.

"I know you tortured people while living with Voldemort, if it's about that—"

"No, it isn't." He cut her off, "Did you know Blaise has a daughter Scorpius's age?"

Strange change of topic, but she didn't argue, "I did not know."

"Not many people do. Or that Nott has a daughter."

"Malfoy?" She whispered, trying to understand why he was telling her that.

"Do you not find it odd all of us have children around the same age? Conceived before the war was over. You are the brightest witch of your age, Granger."

Her brain whirled, but it didn't want to make the conclusion he was implying. Her heart was pounding in her chest, she was sure he could hear it. The dark room seemed to echo her beating heart.

"They wanted to create more pure bloods." She whispered.

"At the time, it was assumed we would win the war. Potter was nowhere to be found—the Dark Lord had control over the ministry. It was time to start the next generation." Hermione pulled her legs up to her chest, taking a sip of her own drink. Her entire body was shaking because she knew what came next, "Astoria was only sixteen." His voice sounded cold and detached, "They gave us drinks to increase our libido, put wands to our heads and told us to have at it."

 _Merlin_.

Hermione didn't know what to say. Her hands were shaking, and she was freezing. The adrenalin pumping through her veins made her shiver. She didn't know what to say to him, how did she offer comfort? How did she begin to understand what he had been through?

"So you can add rapist to your column of torturer and coward." His voice was cold, but shaken. She realized how much he blamed himself for the act, which wasn't fair. It explained so much about his new demeanor.

Hermione let out a breath and said softly, "Rapist implies you chose the act—you had about as much choice as Astoria." He put his glass down on the coffee table, his white hands were shaking in the darkness, "Would they have killed you if you didn't do it?"

"No, death would have been merciful." Malfoy ground out.

"Then you did what you had to to survive. That is not cowardice."

"That is why Astoria wants nothing to do with me—I am the face in her nightmares."

"If there is a hint of this at trial—what do you want me to do?"

"End it all—I will protect my son first." He drained the alcohol in its cup.

Hermione nodded, "For what it is worth, Draco, I don't blame you. We all made difficult choices between two horrible situations."

"But you get the glory of saving the world."

She nodded, "And it isn't fair—I did many things I'm not proud of."

He scoffed, "Name one."

"I obliviated my parents." She confessed, looking down into her glass as she attempted to pull her legs tighter to her chest, "I made them forget me so that they could be safe. I gave them fake names, made them suddenly want to move to Australia."

"You protected them."

"And at what cost? I didn't give them a choice. I made the decision for them. I made them move across the world—forget their lives and forget me. When I finally found them and restored their memories…" Hermione let out a breath, "they don't talk to me anymore, mostly because I would do it again."

"So that's one thing—"

"I disfigured Marietta because she told Umbridge about the DA." Hermione argued, "I disfigured a peer because she was worried about her mother's job." Hermione sighed, "I brewed polyjuice potion second year to see if a student opened the chamber of secrets. I kept Rita Skeeter in a jar for weeks. When I think I am right, I am merciless against people who I believe are wrong."

"Makes you a great lawyer." Malfoy said, adjusting so he was lying down on the couch, his head by hers.

Hermione smiled, "It does."

"Who did you think opened the chamber?"

"You." She confessed, making Malfoy laugh.

"You guys always thought it was me—sometimes it was."

"Harry and Ron pulled hair from Crabbe and Goyle, but I pulled a cat hair on accident—I had to go to the hospital wing."

"Did you cough up hairballs?" Malfoy asked.

Hermione blushed, "Yes."

He laughed more, "That's brilliant."

"I would say not brilliant at all." Hermione argued.

They fell into a comfortable silence, and it was not too long after that Hermione heard Draco's breathing even. Turning around, she noticed he was asleep. Grinning and shaking her head, she stood up and grabbed a blanket. She snickered to herself before putting aside a Gryffindor one, after tonight she wouldn't tease him.

"Goodnight Draco." She whispered after covering him with a blanket, then went to bed.

* * *

 **So you finally have an explanation for Scorpius and why there is no mother in the picture. I know it is dark, but I felt Draco needed a dark reason to change so drastically. I hope you liked it, and the interaction and how Hermione handled it.**

 **Please review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm updating! My whole life is a little crazy because I am moving at the moment... but I have internet in my 'in between' house. So I have that going for me. Everyone who hates moving please say aye! Did everyone say aye? Good.**

 **Please enjoy.**

Hermione looked at her clock, glancing around impatiently. As soon as Malfoy showed up in the floo, she let out a breath.

"There you are! I was getting worried."

"I'm here." He growled, throwing her off.

"You ready for this?"

"Let's get this over with." He snapped, sounding cold. Hermione furrowed her eyebrows before following him into the conference room. The St Mungos lawyers were already waiting as they sat down across from them.

"Are we going to do this entire charade, Hermione?" A lawyer for St Mungos said, Hermione recognized him, William.

"Depends, are you going to cave now?" Hermione asked. She sat down across from their seven lawyers against here measly three.

"This is ridiculous, you and I both know your doing this to grand stand your point and you picked the highest profile client you can find."

"That he happened to be persecuted is a lucky bonus." Hermione said.

William scoffed and another lawyer said, "We could just fire him now and he'd never work again."

Hermione smiled, narrowing her eyes, "Please make my job that easy. Please fire him now so I can be proven right and take everyone of your goddam jobs with me." Her smile looked positively carnivorous.

"He will continue to have his job—the laws protect those rights." William said.

"Finally someone with some brains." Hermione said, looking back to William.

"This is a useless venture, Hermione, back off."

"I think St Mungos is used to getting its way. You're used to snapping your jaws and everyone running. I've faced scarier than you and won, so if this is how you're going to act—I'll see you in court." Hermione said, standing up, the others joining her.

"You can't use defeating He-who-must-not-be-named as an example of your fearlessness every time." William argued.

"It's Voldemort, William. Use his name." Hermione crooned before walking out of the room.

.

"That was fairly useless." Malfoy growled.

"The beginning meetings always are." She said back, "You alright?"

"Fine." He snapped, and she held up her hands.

"Did Scorpius have a good time at the Potter's?"

"It is my business, Granger." The sneer in his voice was full blast, so Hermione took two steps back.

"We have a meeting on Thursday to go over trial prep right before trial. The first hearing is just a show, but you will need to be there."

"Can I go now?" He snapped.

"Yes." She waved him on and he flood out.

"What crawled up his ass?" Mary asked.

"I don't know, but make sure it isn't one of their lawyers."

"On it."

"Thanks Mary." Hermione sighed as she was left alone in the office. What the hell happened? When he left on Sunday morning, he was gone as soon as she woke up. The blankets were folded and the couched was fluffed—it was like he hadn't been there at all. Was he embarrassed for sleeping over? Did he hate that he had told her?

She shook her head. She had work to do and it didn't involve cracking whatever nut he was in.

xxXXxx

"How did it go with Scorpius?" Hermione asked Ginny, who was over at her house on Wednesday night.

"Well, the boys like each other—we are having another play date soon." Hermione frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Malfoy was—his old self—at our meeting with St. Mungos lawyers." Hermione explained.

"You were wondering why?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, I mean, I have no idea why he was so—pissy."

"His time of the month?"

"Maybe." Hermione said with a wave of her hand, "You excited to play on Thursday night?"

"Yes! Last game for a month, so I am excited for some time off."

"Excited for Italy?"

"Super excited, but we will be back on Saturday in time for pick up Quidditch—I know you were worried."

"It's my favorite time to read." Hermione said with a grin.

"Stop worrying about Malfoy, he will turn around." Ginny said with a grin, "Maybe he realized he was becoming friends with all of us and had a panic attack."

"I thought Saturday went well."

"It went very well, except for Ronald being an ass."

"Did anyone un bind him?"

"Yes, I took pity on him only so he was not bound when I punched him in the face."

"Ginny! You didn't."

"No, but I threatened to." Hermione laughed.

Hermione growled, stomping into her office. The meeting with Malfoy on Thursday had been even worse than the one on Tuesday. She had begun to look forward to her meetings with him, but that had been absolutely a step above miserable.

"That was ridiculous." Mary said, "You've never taken that kind of talk from a client before."

"It's throwing me off!" Hermione snapped, "It was fine just last week! I don't know what happened."

"Next time don't let him get away with it or I'll think you're getting soft." Mary said before leaving her alone.

Hermione growled to the empty air, "Well, at least I am getting to Ginny's game—."

.

Hermione had reading material packed, blanket, snacks and all sorts of good things. It was only her and Harry, but she was happy to have time alone with her best friend. She apparated to the game, quickly finding her seats and found Harry already there.

"Harry!" She greeted.

"Hey Mione, did you pack snacks? I'm starving."

"Who comes to a Quidditch game without snacks? We could be here for hours." Hermione grumbled.

"I knew you'd bring them." He confessed with a large grin, holding her bag as she reached in up to her armpit.

"You're lucky I care about you." Hermione grumbled.

Harry laughed.

.

The game turned out to be a cold one, so Hermione was grateful she brought a blanket. Her and Harry were wrapped up underneath the blanket, chatting amiably to pass the time. The game had been an eventful one, and Ginny was playing well.

"The Harpies up by so much." Harry grumbled, "I know the Seeker from the Wasps has seen the snitch at least once."

"All cause Ginny keeps doing an amazing job."

"Taught her everything I know." Harry said, making Hermione laugh. He suddenly tensed, and Hermione looked to the field. Two beaters were roughing up Ginny, "COME ON! PLAY FAIR!" He yelled, sitting up a bit.

Hermione looked on with concern—this wasn't going to be good. Another beater batted a bludger at Ginny, as one shoved her, leaving her completely open hundreds of feet up. The bludger slammed into her, knocking her off her broom as she plummeted to the ground.

Wincing when her body hit the ground, Harry was already on his feet. The crowd was distracted as the Wasp seeker caught the snitch, but the Harpies had won the game.

Harry and Hermione instantly apparated onto the field, and they took off to Ginny's side. A healer on sight was already by her.

"She needs to go to St. Mungos—her right arm is shattered completely." Shattered wasn't a good word, bone fragments were sticking out everywhere.

"Then let's get her there!" Harry growled, "And those beaters need to be searched—her injuries are not just from a fall. I've seen them before, little explosions packets."

"Mr. Potter, let us do our jobs." The two Quidditch officials said.

"Then do it, I'm going with my wife." He apparated to St Mungos.

"You figure it out, or so help me I will sue all of your asses." Hermione threatened before disappearing.

.

"They took her back for diagnosis." Harry said, pacing outside in the waiting room, "I asked Malfoy to look in as well, he wasn't the Healer on duty but—I wanted another set of eyes."

"That is a good thing." Hermione comforted him, "I threatened to sue the Quidditch officials if they didn't figure out what went wrong."

"Bone doesn't shatter like that from a fall." Harry growled, "Bone fragments were everywhere."

"I agree." Hermione said.

He snarled before sitting down, "I hate waiting."

"This is when Ginny usually threatens to kill you if something happens." Hermione said with a grin.

"I never gave her enough credit."

Draco came out in his healer robes, so Harry immediately stood up.

"We just ran the diagnostics—what the fuck happened—a fall didn't do this."

"One of the Weasley devices is a small explosive, used to blow up walls to create doorways. A dark wizarding group has been using them on humans. The results are devastating, but in a very small area." Harry said, "I think it is what was used—I just caught the person in charge of making them, they had threatened to do something but I didn't suspect this—at a Quidditch match no less."

"She is lucky they got her arm and not her chest, but it will be difficult to rebuild. I tell you this only to prepare you for the worst. We will be back out with options in a moment."

"Thank you, Malfoy."

Malfoy nodded before walking back.

"He's a good healer, Harry. I know he'll do his best." Hermione encouraged him.

.

They waited only a few minutes before two healers came out, Malfoy and another one.

"I'm Healer Craft, I am the healer on your wife's case." The male healer said, and Hermione already knew Malfoy didn't like him by his stance, "I can restore your wife's arm, but there will be no feeling in her hand."

"No feeling? She uses it to play Quidditch—it's her right arm."

"She will be able to move it—but it is the best I can do." Craft said, and Harry looked devastated.

Hermione had her eyes on Malfoy who was standing silent, but fuming. His grey eyes were dark and stormy, his fingers clenched.

"What do you think, Draco?" Hermione asked softly.

"Healer Malfoy agrees with my assessment." Craft said, narrowing his eyes at Hermione.

"Malfoy, do you agree with him?" Harry asked.

"There is a procedure that is risky, but I have had success with it before. She will regain feeling in hopefully all of her fingers." Malfoy argued.

"The procedure is extremely risky. You build the arm from the ground up—she could end up losing everything."

"Can you do it?" Harry asked Malfoy.

"Yes." Malfoy answered with certainty.

"Then do it." Harry said.

Malfoy looked to Hermione, who nodded to him. He let out a breath before turning and marching back into Ginny's room.

"I hope you are happy with yourself." Craft said before storming off.

"Did I make the right choice?" Harry asked, sitting in a chair looking pale.

"Malfoy can do this." Hermione said with certainty. Harry wrapped an arm around Hermione, and she nestled into his shoulder.

.

The waiting began.

.

Every moment was agonizing, and Hermione was almost scared to breath.

.

"Sir," An auror came in, "We talked to the beaters from the Wasps—they had the explosive devices. They were paid to do it."

"Thank you, Rimlen." Harry said, his voice tired as he picked his head up off Hermione's.

"Any news?" Rimlen asked.

"No, but it has been a few hours—we hope it will be soon." Harry said, Rimlen nodded. At some point during their waiting, Mr. and Mrs. Weasely came, George, Bill, Angelina, some members of the Quidditch team. The entire waiting room was full of people.

"Potter." Malfoy's call made the entire room silent.

Harry stood up, not letting go of Hermione's hand as the two walked over to Malfoy. They stepped back between the doors that lead to the surgical areas to give the illusion of privacy, though the entire room stared at them through the glass windows.

Malfoy looked exhausted, he had clearly spent the entire five-hour period on his feet.

"There were some minor complications, but I was able to do the procedure." Malfoy said, "She should have full feeling in her hand in a week or so."

Harry let out a cry of relief before hugging Malfoy, "Thank you."

Hermione blinked back tears of relief, a large smile on her face. She turned to the watching crowd with two thumbs up. The effect was instantaneous as they all cheered.

"Way to go Malfoy!" George yelled.

Malfoy's cheeks tinged pink, but his scowl remained.

"Can we go see her?" Harry asked.

"Not everyone, but a small group." Malfoy said, letting a few people in the door before making everyone back off.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked down the hall with George, Bill and Harry. It was more than Malfoy wanted, but they were all family. Hermione hung back by the door, watching as Malfoy slipped away in the chaos of everyone fawning over Ginny.

She turned and went down the hall to follow him.

"Malfoy." She called, and he turned around to look at her. His face stern, though it couldn't hide his fatigue, "Thank you."

"I did my job, Granger." He snapped.

"I know—but you did it amazingly well. I expect you to thank me at the end of the court case."

He looked a bit more relaxed at her statement, but then soon covered it up.

"Go back to your little Gryffindor pack."

Hermione growled, "What did I do?" She asked, and he looked surprised, "I had to do something? I wracked my brain all week to explain your behavior. I asked Mary to see if you had been threatened—but no—you seem to be acting like an ass for no reason!" He grabbed her arm and drug her into a room, one he made sure had no one in it, but she didn't really pay attention, "Is it my fault? Did I not handle our last conversation well, in which case I am sorry—"

"Granger—"

"It was that, wasn't it. I am sorry, I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to belittle what you went through, or make it sound like I pity you—"

"Granger—"

"I know how to be there for Ginny, and Harry, even Ron, but I've known them forever. And you're a new friend, or at least I'd like to think you are. I'm here for you in whatever way I can be—"

"Hermione!" Draco called again, he was standing too close to her. Way too close. She swallowed as she leaned back against the wall, but it didn't give her enough space to not feel the overwhelming tension. Her chest was heaving up and down, "None of those are the reasons why."

"Then why?" She asked, finding the courage to look up at him, and she wished she hadn't. His eyes were dark and her skin crackled. His eyes closed as he leaned down closer, still far enough away but close enough for his breath to let out over her lips. She unconsciously wet them.

"Granger, they say you are an intelligent witch."

"Then let's say I am not one—I am not a member of the Golden Trio." She whispered.

"Does that mean I have no tragic past?" He asked

"It means we just left our lives behind, I am no longer me and you are no longer you. Just please, tell me what's going on?" She asked.

She didn't finish the last word as demanding lips pressed against hers. The heat of his body pressed against hers nearly made her combust; strong arms kept her hands in place above her head.

Hermione couldn't push herself close enough. Her entire body felt like flames were devouring her, and she would willingly throw her body into the fire. Her breasts arched against her shirt, aching to be touched. Heat pooled to her thighs, begging for friction.

Merlin, she needed more.

He was suddenly gone, her body mourned the loss of heat as he sat down on a hospital bed across from her.

"I thought I was crazy." Hermione said.

"Maybe we both are." Draco said, his cocky grin back made his kissed lips look even sexier, "I apologize for my behavior, but I thought it best if it was only me to back away."

"I thought it was just me—and that I made it up every time we were in the same room." She waved her hand, "Then you'd come back in the room and I couldn't use that argument again."

"Scorpius's play?"

"I thought I was going to combust—or die."

He chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. She liked him like this, he looked so much more care free.

"What do we do?" He asked, which surprised her.

"As two people who are in this room, or with our entire lives outside this door?"

"The first one." He said with a sigh.

"We do what every normal couple who first admit they like each other."

"We go on a date?" He asked, obviously unconvinced.

"Well, as your lawyer, I would have to say that is frowned upon. We should probably wait for something public after the trial—in the wizarding world. Muggle world we should be fine."

"That should give us time if you run for the hills between then and now." He said with a wave of his hand, then his eyes got dark again, "Are you sure? With our history—"

Hermione put a hand up, "I thought we were leaving our complicated history outside?"

"We can't stay in here forever." Hermione stood up and walked across the room to the bed he was sitting on, standing between his legs.

Her eyes softened, "I know, but let's fight one thing at a time."

"So we don't tell anyone?"

"Ginny will find out." Hermione said, "I'll try not to tell her, but she will find out—plus we've already talked about you." He raised his eyebrows, "Mostly about how I thought I was crazy."

"Fine, then Red will know."

"And Harry, because they are a team."

"Then Potter will know too—anyone else?" He grumbled, "The entire Weasel family? My family?" He shivered, his eyes serious again.

"Those two will be fine until the trial ends—assuming you don't run for the hills before then."

He looked up at her, "This is insane."

Hermione let out a laugh, "Completely."

"I'm only agreeing to this because I spent the past five hours on my feet." He said.

"Are you fishing for complements?" She asked, her eyebrow rose as she teased him.

"You could say I'm immeasurably talented again." He suggested, his large hands grabbing her ass as he brought her toward him, "I might feel better."

She giggled, pushing back his hair before leaning down for a kiss. This time, she was grateful for her hands to be involved as they entwined themselves in his hair. His kiss was demanding, and even though she was closer to his height because he was sitting on the hospital bed, he dominated her mouth.

When she pulled away, she hummed with her eyes still closed. Two strong hands gripped her arse.

"I am going to go see Ginny." She murmured, her eyes still closed. His placed open mouth kisses up her neck, making her arch into him for more. Heat gathered in her core like it had never left, she wasn't sure she had ever felt like that with such small kisses.

"I'll pick you up for a date tomorrow?" He asked against her throat, making it vibrate through her. Her body shivered, but she managed to nod, "I know a place."

"In the muggle world? I'm impressed."

"I'm very impressive."

"That remains to be seen."

"Questioning my prowess will only have me prove otherwise." He said, a strong grip on her jaw that made her folds ache with pleasure. She suddenly wanted him to just fuck her up against the wall and be done with it, but she closed her eyes and nodded before backing away.

"I have to go see Ginny." She said more strongly.

"I'll see you tomorrow at 6:30." He told her, not asked. She didn't know why she found that so attractive to the point where her breasts ached to be touched.

She nodded, "Get some rest." She told him before nearly stumbling out the door on weak knees.

* * *

 **What does everyone think about first kiss? Took long enough...**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**I have been gone for a little too long! Sorry! I promise I am going to make it up to you with this chapter. I will warn you that this story is rated M for a reason. If this bothers you, then don't read it.**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you going to tell me why you have been walking around with moony eyes?" Ginny asked, sitting up in bed at home, she was allowed out early the next day.

"I don't make moony eyes." Hermione argued.

"You do" Ginny said with a laugh, "I wouldn't believe it until I saw it—but you do. What happened?"

"I confronted Malfoy about being an ass all week?"

"And?" Ginny said excitedly and a knowing wink.

"Kinda sorta made out." Hermione said quickly.

Ginny whooped, "I knew something happened! Give me all the details!"

"I don't know—I was asking him why he was being an ass, if it was something I did. We talked through some stuff after the Halloween party—attorney client privilege before you ask—and I was worried I made him upset. He—convinced—me otherwise."

"How?" Ginny asked, "I'm living through you."

"Why?" Hermione asked with a laugh.

"Come on, Mione. Even if he was a royal ass in school, his reputation precedes him."

"I didn't know he had a reputation." Hermione said with a frown.

"Don't hold it against him, it's a good thing."

"Well, considering I kissed him when he has done a lot worse." Hermione groaned, running her hands over her face, "I'm stupid—and insane. This will never work."

"I don't know. You've done more difficult things." Ginny said with a grin.

"He was so demanding, it was so sexy." Hermione said with a sigh.

"The bossy one likes to be bossed around in bed." Ginny said, smirking.

"I didn't know I liked it until he did it." Hermione admitted with a blush.

"How are you going to date with the trial?"

"Sticking to the muggle world where no one knows us."

"So you'll be doing the planning? When is your first date?" Ginny said.

"Tonight actually, he says he has an idea."

Ginny grinned, "I like everything so far—do you have any idea where he is going to take you?"

"No—not at all." Hermione had a huge grin on her face, giggling, "I haven't felt like this in—well—I don't know when."

"I am happy for you, Hermione, even if this is unimaginably complicated."

"I brought over outfits, help me pick one!"

"Did he say what to wear?"

"No, but I can't imagine we'll go anywhere too fancy." Hermione said, reaching into her bag.

.

The rest of the time getting ready was full of idle chitchat and prattle as Hermione got ready.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked.

"Six ten, and that is two minutes after the last time you asked!"

"I don't want to be late!" Hermione said, walking out of the bathroom.

"Damn, Mione! You look good!" Ginny approved. She was wearing a soft blue shirt with black jeans, a cream sweater. The blue shirt cut low enough to be sexy, and she was sure to wear a sexy bra as well, "What about the bra?" Hermione pulled her shirt down to show the black lacy top, and Ginny whistled.

"Is it bad that I am planning on sleeping with him?" Hermione asked

"No. Absolutely not. You are ready to move on from Ronald." Ginny assured her.

"I'm going back to my flat."

"You have twenty minutes." Ginny said with a laugh.

"What if he's early? I don't want to scare him off." Hermione said before kissing her head, "Feel better, Malfoy said he wants to see you Monday to see how you're doing."

"I know Mione, I was there. Go have fun on your date, and get your ass here tomorrow to tell me all about it. But it better be around noon." Ginny said with a wink, making Hermione's cheeks get pink, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Hermione laughed before apparating to her own flat.

She sat at her kitchen table, anxiously waiting. Eventually, she got up and began cleaning things because she couldn't just sit there anymore. When the floo went off, she turned and smiled as Malfoy walked out.

"Sorry I'm late, I was dropping Scorpius off—you ready?" He asked, his hair casually pushed to the side. He was wearing a white button down with a black blazer, but he somehow made it look casual with jeans.

"Yeah, where are we going?" She asked, jumping up.

"Hm, surprise." He said sensually as his eyes rolled over her body. She reached out an arm.

"Then let's go!" She said as he pulled her close and apparated them.

.

When they landed around the corner, she assumed, from their destination. Her brow furrowed, she was confused. She could see him watching her intently.

"I feel like you like knowing things I don't know." She said with a huff, making him laugh. The people walking around her weren't speaking English, which made her pause, "Where are we?"

A building was approaching that most people were walking into, "The Oceanario de Lisboa—it's an aquarium in Portugal I brought Scorpius to—it's his favorite."

"Seriously?" She asked, nearly squealing.

"Did I choose wrong?" He sounded concerned.

She leapt up to wrap her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek, "I get to learn and go on a date? Best date ever."

Draco laughed, "I knew I picked a good one, come on." He encouraged her as they walked up the steps.

.

They made their way up to pay, and Draco turned to her, "I know you are going to want to pay your part—and I know you can, I respect it. But I am paying for our first date."

"Can I pay for the aquarium and you pay for dinner?" She asked, biting her lower lip. Her natural instincts were fighting for her to show she didn't need anyone to pay for her.

"No, Granger. I'm paying—we can discus how you feel inadequate by not paying later."

"Malfoy!" She growled after him as he walked up to the counter, paying. She rolled her eyes at his cocky smirk and wink.

"Come on, Granger." He pulled her along, his hand intertwined in hers. Her heart fluttered as she allowed him to drag her along.

.

Draco was the perfect person to go through an aquarium with. He let her wander on her own, but would step near her and contribute facts that he knew about different species. He was always close enough for her to rely on when she needed anything, far enough away to give her her own space.

When they got to the bird section, Hermione laughed at the different birds.

"The Rockhopper ones are funny." She said with a giggle, pointing at them walking around. Draco leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. She sighed in happiness as she grabbed his hand. He backed away though he didn't look like he wanted to as they continued along through the exhibit.

Though they clearly hadn't seen everything, she was beginning to get hungry, but she was sure they could have spent hours in the aquarium without seeing everything.

"I'm getting hungry."

"There's one more thing I think you'll want to see." He said, pulling her along. She would have accused him of looking like Scorpius, but there was a glint in his eyes that Scorp wasn't old enough to have.

He pulled her along another tunnel, and she looked into the tank. His face was bright, so she smiled as she looked back to the tank.

"Sea otters!" She cried out happily as they dove and swam through the water, "They are my patronous!"

"I know." He said with a smirk.

"How'd you know?" She asked, leaning into his side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I was part of the Inquisitorial Squad." He said with sneer and arrogance, "I was tasked to know certain things."

Hermione laughed, tilting her head up so he could capture her lips.

"I believe you said you were hungry."

"Starving." She said with a blush.

"Come on then." He nudged her.

.

The restaurant was down the way, they took a taxi to get there. It started to rain as they were taxing over, so Hermione grabbed Draco's hand as they sprinted to the restaurant. By the time they got underneath the awning, they were both soaked.

Hermione laughed as she looked at Draco, and he laughed with her before leaning down and taking her lips again, this time with a bit more passion. His tongue slipped into her mouth, making her groan as she ran her thumb along his cheek.

"Lets go in." Hermione said, pulling away as she drug him into the restaurant.

They had to sit and dry the muggle way since they were in muggle company. She sat across from him in the booth as the waiter handed them water and menus. Draco ordered them wine, she trusted him.

"Come on Granger." He motioned for her to sit next to him.

"I hate couples that sit on the same side of the booth."

"Than you can hate yourself from this side." He nodded his head, "This side, Granger."

She rolled her eyes, sliding out of the booth and sliding in next to him, "I'm not sure why I am listening to you."

"Cause I'm right." He murmured, pulling her close and into his shoulder so they could both look at the same menu.

"What's good?" She asked.

"Is the independent woman asking what a male thinks?" He teased.

"Draco!" He laughed before pointing out a few things on the menu he had in the past.

Dinner was excellent, she found that conversation flowed easily. Draco asked lots of questions about her work, and she asked about his. He lit up like a Hogwarts Christmas tree when he talked about his work, and Hermione had never been more inspired to work on his case. He was particularly interested in the effects of Dark Magic and how to heal them—inspired by obvious reasons.

They talked through dinner, Hermione enjoying her choice, which Draco was quick to remind her that he had recommended. She laughed at his antics, never leaning to far away from him.

This was so much better than her date with Neil. Or her date with the Quidditch player. She laughed nearly constantly, especially with the wine, but she was sure to limit herself, she wanted to be alert. She never wanted the date to end; she was comfortable exactly where she was.

"Back to my place for ice cream?" He asked,

She nodded, not thinking about the implications of the question, "Yes." He placed money on the tab.

"Come on then." He said eagerly, nearly pushing her out of the booth.

It was still raining when they got outside, but they needed to run down the street a bit in order to apparate. He held out his hand, and she grabbed it before they began to sprint down the street.

The rain had them soaked before they even got a block, but the streets were still too busy—or maybe it was more fun to think that way. When Draco had deemed them far enough, he gathered her into his arms before apparating them to his house. Scorpius was with his grandmother for the night, so Draco hadn't worried about apparating outside of the house to not wake him. He took them straight to his living room.

.

Being that close made it easy for Draco to lean down and kiss her senseless, and her arms were hugged against his chest during the apparating. His arms drug down her back to pull her up to his chest, she moaned. His warmth stood in sharp contrast to her wet clothes. She was already shivering, though from arousal or from being cold she wasn't sure. Her nipples were hard underneath her bra, begging to be played with—and her bra didn't have enough padding to hide that.

He pulled back, suddenly trying to look much more gentleman like, "Ice cream?" He asked.

She blushed, "I don't really want ice cream."

He groaned before pulling her roughly against him, and she could feel him getting hard against her.

"I need rules, Granger." He moaned, kissing up her neck.

"Rules?" She asked, confused.

"Yes, rules. Do this, don't do this."

"I don't know any rules." She murmured with a blush.

"So if I tie you to my bed and not let you come until you scream my name?" He asked, her legs felt weak and she had never been so turned on in her life. If her nipples weren't already erect from the cold, they would be now. But her voice caught in her breath, she couldn't say yes to that—it made her nervous as much as it made her downstairs quiver, "I thought not." He said with a grin, looking at her. It wasn't disappointed, as she feared it would be, "That's why I ask for expectations."

She stepped back, a blush on her face, "Draco," She bit her lip, almost afraid to say it but she knew she had to, "I've only ever had sex with Ronald." His shit-eating grin surprised her, but it also made her brow furrow, "Why are you smiling?" She demanded.

"I _know_ I am better at sex than that Weasel, so I'm about to blow your mind." He said confidently, "Come on then, one night of sexy vanilla sex."

"It's not like I am adverse to kinks." She said quietly, her blush getting darker as she looked up at him, "I just don't know what I like."

Draco looked like he had just been given a present, so she figured she said the right thing as he kissed her. She laughed as he nearly pushed her to the bedroom. When he pushed her up against the wall outside of his bedroom, he ground his hips into hers.

"Salazar, I thought of fucking you all night. All night I kept thinking what it'd be like to drill my cock into your cunt. Every time you fucking blushed I wondered what your blush would look like across your breasts. I wanted to suck them until they were so erect you could come if I just licked them." Hermione's eyes were rolling into the back of her head, she wanted to rip his clothes off. He pulled off of her only to push her into his room.

He flicked his wand and the fireplace roared to life, followed by another flick that lit many of the candles in the room.

Draco looked positively feral in the firelight, his damp white shirt stuck to him like a second skin. She eagerly grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it off of him. Her fingers danced along his pectorals.

"I've never had an orgasm having sex with Ron—so I don't know if I can." She blurted out.

"You can most definitely have an orgasm." Draco said with a rueful grin.

"I mean—I know I can have an orgasm," She said, her blush deepening, "I've just, never had one when he tried."

Draco pulled off her shirt and it fell to the ground in a wet heap, "You've brought yourself to orgasm?" He asked, his voice had dropped at least eight octaves. She nodded, too embarrassed to speak. Draco moaned, pulling her close to him, "One day, I'm going to have you show me." He groaned in her ear.

She figured it was a good thing that he was already planning the next time they had sex. He threw her against the bed and pulled her pants off.

"Merlin your legs are stunning. The other day at work, you sat on your desk and crossed your legs when you were talking to me—you remember?" She nodded, her breathing quickened, "All I could think about is how they would look wrapped around my hips. Fucking gorgeous." He kissed her inner knee of her right leg before stripping himself of his own pants.

She could see his erection against his black boxers, and she couldn't help but stare at his powerful thighs.

"You fucking slut." He growled, "Matching panties and bra—you planned to have me fuck you tonight." He suddenly shook his head, "Sorry, Granger, I will shut up if you want me to—I don't know how you feel about language."

"Oh Merlin don't stop, I think I was just about to orgasm." She moaned.

The cocky grin was back on his face, "So you like dirty talk?"

"Godric, yes." She moaned, her own voice sounded foreign to her, it was husky. Her thighs were rubbing together because if he didn't touch her in about three seconds she was going to start. She was sure she was wet, she wanted to reach down to feel for herself.

"I think that is the first time his name has been invoked on my bed." He said with a grin, leaning down to unclasp her bra with ease—which she tried not to think about.

Looking down on him sucking on her breasts in the firelight was extremely erotic. The flames made his grey eyes look savage. She didn't know her nipples could look like that when erect.

"Draco, please." She moaned. He let go of a nipple, and she cried out at the loss of sensation.

"Draco please what?" He asked.

"Do something." She moaned, "I think I am going to combust."

He chuckled, "We can't have that." His fingers ran along her nether lips through the fabric of her panties and she swore she almost came from just that. His lips moved further down her stomach, and she hardly paid attention as he ripped her panties off.

"Draco?" She stiffened as hips lips kissed just before her pussy started, "I've never—

"Merlin, you've never been eaten out either?" He asked, looking irritated.

"No?" She said it like it was a question, feeling like she needed to cross her arms, but he growled, reaching up to pin them down.

"That will not do at all—I like to see my play things all laid out before me, so I do not want those perfect breasts covered. Next, oral stimulation is one of the keenest pleasures, and I do expect reciprocation—so, I will be burying my face in your delicious cunt—and I promise you'll like it."

She nodded furiously, her eyes big as he winked at her devilishly before licking down her body.

The first lick along her slit had her arching off the bed. His slow languid tongue had the orgasm that was already building on the very edge. She didn't last long at all before she exploded, moaning as her breasts arched off the bed.

"Merlin, one day I'll have you watch yourself as you come because that was fucking beautiful." He sat up between her legs, making a show of licking his lips before scooting up between her legs, "I have the contraceptive spell on—you?"

She nodded.

She wasn't sure how she was going to feel so soon after orgasm with him pushing inside of her, but she was glad she didn't voice it out loud. His cock brushed against her outside, and she was already building another orgasm in her belly.

How did he do that?

As he slowly pushed inside of her, she moaned. He felt so large inside of her, every crevice was full.

"You alright?" He asked, she nodded.

"It's just been awhile." But she looked up at him, his eyes were sparkling with mischief as well as care, "You can move."

He leaned down on top of her, pressing every inch of his glorious body against hers, "This is for my pleasure and yours, tell me when your ready for more." His hips moved slightly out before pushing back in.

That sensation alone had her moaning.

His pace was agonizingly slow and his strokes entirely way too shallow. Soon she was begging for more.

"Harder." She begged.

She didn't recognize the woman begging for more release, begging for more cock. It wasn't long before he sat back up, pulled her legs flush against his and drilled into her. The room was filled of the sounds of slapping, sex and moans. He hit spots she didn't know were inside of her.

"Touch your breasts, Granger," He ordered, and so she did. The orgasm building she was sure was going to rip her to shreds, but damn it all she wanted it any way.

She pushed her hips up to his, in time with his thrusts. Her orgasm was so fucking close, it was impossible to put off now. The entire world could be collapsing and she wouldn't care. One hand left her breasts to touch her overly sensitive clit. She had never felt it so wet in her life.

"I—I—I'm going to come." She swore, moving her manicured nail along her clit.

"Come, Granger." Draco ordered, his voice deep.

She screamed her release just before he filled her with his cum. A haze filled her as Draco collapsed on top of her.

"Fucking hell Granger." He murmured against her collarbone.

.

She cleared her throat, but didn't respond. This was the awkward part, did he expect her to leave? What was the protocol? "I can hear your brain whirring."

Hermione laughed and figured the hell with it, just be honest, "I'm just not sure if you want me to stay or not."

He sat up, pulling out of her and rolling off at the same time. Hermione hissed at this discomfort, "You're not done yet, Granger."

"But you—you already—"

A cocky grin was on his face, "Give me a few minutes, I'll be ready to go again." He shook his head, "What did Weasel ever do with you?"

She huffed, "This is not a logical emotional response, but when you talk crap about him I have a need to defend him." She smiled guiltily.

He smiled back, he looked so beautiful in the firelight, "That's fair enough—I'd probably react the same if you talked badly about my father, and I probably am more afraid of him than you are." He said it so casually, but there was so much hurt behind the statement—for now she let it go. He brushed hair out of her face, "What did your last significant other ever do with you?" For some reason, leaving the name out helped.

She blushed, "Not a lot—mostly just missionary, sometimes me on top—that's the only way I could get close. But we were never comfortable naked together, lights were always off."

"You suck him off?" She nearly winced at the crass language, but it was very Draco of him so she wouldn't complain.

"A couple of times, but then he said I was bad at it—so we didn't do it after that." She was looking down, anywhere but at him. She also desperately wanted to grab a blanket to cover herself, but Draco looked like being naked wasn't a hindrance for him, "He just made me feel self conscious about everything, so I didn't really try to do anything after awhile—I just kinda let him do whatever. "

Draco gently pulled her chin up to him, "Unless you're chomping off a cock, you're not terrible at a blow job. There are good and better ones, but there are different strokes for different folks." He smirked, "And I am not shy about telling which ones I like."

"You talk a lot during sex."

He chuckled darkly, his finger running along her arm making it have goose bumps.

"For future reference, feel free to use red, yellow and green as safe words—I'll check in too. I know what we did wasn't anything too crazy, but I'd rather set rules now so you know them."

"Planning on having lots of sex with me Malfoy?" She asked coyly.

"Lots and lots of it." He assured her, moving to flip his hair back with his fingers. Hermione was distracted by the movement momentarily, saw the dark mark, then looked back at him, "Shit—sorry—I usually cover it with glamour." He moved out of bed, and Hermione was confused.

"Draco?"

"I'm sorry—let me get my wand."

"Draco." She said sternly, and he looked back at her, "Get back in bed—I don't care that I can see it."

"You don't care that I have a Dark Mark on my arm?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, his tone dark and angry.

"I care that you have one." Hermione said, moving to the edge of the bed so that her feet touched the ground, "But you don't need to cover it—I don't want you to. And no, its not some weird kink before you ask. I just—it's who you are—the good and the bad."

"You want to be reminded that I am a royal fuck up?" He growled, "Want to be reminded who I am so you can run away?"

"Draco!" She growled, "Don't jump to conclusions. I know who you are, and that doesn't need to be there to remind me. If it makes you uncomfortable, then by all means cover it. I just don't want you to think I want you to change who you are—or obliviate your past. Would you have me hide my scars?"

"They are not the same." He growled.

She looked up at him fiercely, "Maybe the way you see it, but not the way I do. I have changed—grown— so much from the time I got my scars. The boy that got that mark is not the man in front of me. We all have light and dark and each of us, Draco, you know that as well as I do."

He ran his fingers through his hair, looking back at her, "I didn't want tonight to be about all this fucked up shit."

"That's what happens when you fucked a member of the Golden Trio." Hermione said sarcastically.

"Fuck." He said, with a smirk, "You said fucked, as in past tense. I plan on fucking you again." He moved closer to her, pushing her hair out of her face as she looked up at him, "We are very stupid for sleeping with each other."

Hermione laughed, "Very, very stupid." He kissed her chastely, and her hands ran over his lower abs, her thumbs running through his happy trail as they made their way up. Another small but sensual kiss made her pull back onto the bed to coax him to follow her. He leaned down over her, one of his legs between her thighs.

"You are beautiful." He murmured.

"And you are incredibly sexy." She complemented, and she could feel him smirk against her lips. He rolled over onto his back, bringing her with him.

"Stroke my ego." He said with a grin, "Tell me what you like."

She sat up a bit, biting her thumb to think, "What do I like?" She murmured to herself, "I like your arms." She started off, letting her manicured nail go down his bicep, "They always flex under your shirt, and they're snug so you can see them." Her finger drug down his arm, "I love your hands." She gushed before she could help it, picking it up and running her fingers over it, "Big hands, calloused ones."

"Just wait until I finger fuck you, then you'll love them even more." Draco declared, his eyes hazing over. Hermione took his index finger into her mouth with the palm up, gently grazing her teeth down it before letting go with an audible pop, "Merlin." He moaned, his hips jumping underneath her as she felt him get hard.

She decided to do the same treatment to all his fingers.

His dark grey eyes never looked anywhere else as she slowly put each finger in her mouth, leaving the thumb for last.

As soon as she let go of his hand, both of his grasped her hips, moving her so she was grinding against him.

"What else?" He moaned as he asked.

"This dip at the bottom of your neck." She murmured, leaning down to lick up his Adam's apple, "Your nipples only because I am sure you love your nipples." She said with a smirk before leaning over his right one and taking it between her teeth.

"Harder." He ordered, and so she obliged, then did the left one as well. His hips surged, as he held her head there, "I want to be inside you."

"What are you waiting for?" She asked.

He pulled her hips up, helping her ease down onto him making them both moan. He sat up as he surged his hips up, pushing them both together as he grasped her ass with both hands.

"Oh God." She gasped, loving the deep angle he hit. She rolled her hips along his, her clit rubbing against him as she did. Moaning, her head dropped back.

He thrust upward in time with her small grinding motions made the fire start low in her belly. This time was much slower than the last, more about passion than the heat of the moment. His lips pressed cool kisses along her hot body, making his way up to her neck.

Each motion down combined with her hips made her see stars, she was glad he didn't want her to move fast because she didn't think she could take it. A strong hand ran along her neck, pushing her jaw up nearly forcefully.

Her high pitch grunt must have encouraged him because he didn't remove it as she lowered down onto him again. Her legs were shaking from the sheer pleasure of the build up, her thighs quivered in delight. Each motion downward put pressure on her neck and made it difficult to breathe, but she loved every second of it.

His surges upward were getting more forceful, but she didn't change her pace. She wanted this orgasm to obliterate her. His other hand recklessly pulled on her nipples, making her arch her back as much as she could.

"Ah!" She screamed, coming down on him again, but it still wasn't enough to bring her over the edge, it was like she was waiting for something.

The pressure on her neck was bordering on painful, but it made the pleasure that much more enjoyable. His hand came down to grip her ass as he gave a particularly hard thrust upward, accompanied with a grunt.

"Draco— please." She whispered, anything louder would've hurt.

"Come Granger." He ordered right before she fell down again with another thrust upward, his hand left her neck.

She dug her fingers into his shoulder as the orgasm bled through her. She was glad he continued to thrust as she rode out the orgasm, letting out a quiet cry as she did. He burst inside of her, making the aftershocks of her orgasm that much more powerful.

She collapsed in a quivering heap on top of him.

His hands pulled her with him as he deftly pulled down the covers. She was fading quickly as he pulled her close to him.

"Don't you dare sneak out tomorrow morning." He warned, grabbing his wand to put out the candles, still leaving the fireplace.

"I won't." She promised, her voice raspy.

* * *

 **See. Rated M. Hope you enjoyed!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! I hope you like this one as well! It is rated M for a reason.**

* * *

Hermione slowly woke up, forgetting where she was at first. The steady breathing underneath her quickly reminded her what she had done the night before—and if that didn't, how sore she was certainly would have. Moving her arm to grasp his torso, she snuggled down further onto his chest.

Her leg was wrapped around his, and the blanket covering both of them but leaving his chest exposed. Her eyes open, she gently let her fingers trace patterns on his chest.

This felt nice. This felt like two people who had no complicated history. She felt nearly giddy with excitement. Looking up at him, she marveled at how innocent he looked when he slept—he never looked that innocent when his eyes were open.

"Why are you staring at me?" He murmured.

She giggled, the sound raspy, "I was thinking about how innocent you look when you're sleeping."

"Don't tell anyone." He grumbled, pulling her closer to him. She sighed, laying back down on his chest, "What do you have to do today?"

"Going to Ginny's" She was keeping her sentences short because her throat hurt—how much yelling had she done?

"Why?" He asked, his eyes still closed.

"So we can talk about you."

He chuckled, opening his eyes, "I'll pop by later so I can see to her arm."

"I can go?" She asked.

"Yes, I want more sleep and you look wide awake." He said, closing his eyes again.

"I'll see you soon then." She said, kissing his jaw before sitting up, "When's our next date?"

"I have business meetings with Malfoy Enterprises all week after work— I have the sitter staying here all week with Scorpius." He admitted, "Wednesday—it'd have to be a late dinner?"

She nodded, "Scorpius coming back here tonight?"

"Yes—otherwise I'd persuade you to stay."

.

Hermione quickly got a shower in her own apartment before heading over to Ginny's house. As soon as she stepped in, she could smell the eggs and bacon. Ginny was sitting at a bar stool with a mimosa.

"Morning Ginny." Hermione said.

"Oh my god your voice!" Ginny said with a large grin, "You have to tell me everything."

Hermione blushed, "Where's Harry?"

"Bathroom—I haven't told him so you are going to have that honor." Ginny said, "But how was it?"

"It was incredible." Hermione said, opening a cabinet and getting a tea cup and a packet of Throat Healing Tea.

"The throat healing ones are right next to the Scream Tea—George's idea of a joke."

Hermione made sure she had the right tea bag before making herself a cup, heating it up with her wand.

"Give me details!" Ginny said.

"He talks a lot during sex." Hermione said with a blush.

"Saying how he is going to have his wicked way with you?"

"The date was perfect—he took me to an aquarium."

"I don't care about the date—I care about the sex." Ginny said.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, coming around the corner.

"Hermione had a date." Ginny said, and Hermione glared at her.

"Who did you have a date with?" Harry asked, looking excited.

"You're not going to like the answer." Hermione said honestly, moving to sit next to Ginny as Harry took control of the stove again, then flicking his wand to leave it to magic.

"You're not getting back together with Ron, are you?"

"No." Hermione said forcefully, "I went on a date with Malfoy."

Harry stiffened, "Hermione, there is no reason to drop your standards—just because Ron didn't work out—

"No Harry, it was actually a great date. And, we're not really telling anybody because of the trial and—because us dating is kind of insane."

"Kind of?" Harry exploded, then gripped his temper again. Hermione was patient as she waited for him to speak, "Hermione, this is the same person who called you a mudblood at school—who made your life miserable."

"Yes, but he's different now." Hermione argued.

"Mione—you're supposed to be the brightest witch of our age." The floo went off and Hermione's stomach dropped—she forgot to tell them he was coming over.

"Red! I came to check on your arm!" Malfoy called out, walking into the kitchen, "Bad time?"

Harry's face was red as he went for his wand.

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione yelled, pointing her own wand at him, "Come with me."

She dragged him by his arm into the next room, slammed the door and put a silencing charm on it.

"WHY HIM?" Harry yelled.

"BECAUSE HE IS GOOD FOR ME." Hermione yelled back.

"HOW IS MALFOY GOOD FOR YOU?"

"He understands what the war did to me—what it did to all of us. He gets that I like learning—he can actually hold an intellectual conversation. I know we're crazy for dating—I realize it's stupid. But Harry Potter, I am happy. So if you would please not beat him up, I'd be grateful. You can tell me I told you so at the end of all this—but until then just keep your mouth shut." She frowned, "And he just saved your wife's arm, so be nice."

"Fine—but I won't like it." He grumbled.

"Thank you Harry." She said, kissing his cheek.

"I'm just happy you're doing something stupid." He said with a small grin.

"Come on Harry." She said, pulling him out of the room, "I'm hungry."

.

"Am I still allowed to be here?" Draco asked as they walked out.

"Yes." Hermione said with a glare to Harry, who glowered back.

"Harry, I'm hungry." Ginny said.

"Hold your hand up for me." Draco said, talking to Ginny, "Let me know if you can feel my touch."

"Did Hermione let you know you could feel her touch?" Ginny asked.

"Ginny." Harry growled, looking toward the kitchen.

"Have you heard her talk, Red?" Malfoy asked with a grin.

"Don't push it, Draco." Hermione grumbled, her face red as she sat down beside Ginny.

"I need you to focus, Red." Malfoy said, his voice more stern, very doctor like.

"I feel that." Ginny said as Malfoy began touching each of her fingers lightly in different places, "Does he use that voice in bed?" Ginny asked Hermione.

"I'm being civil!" Harry said, holding up his hands.

Hermione giggled, "No, its more husky than that." Draco winked at Hermione before continuing his exam.

"You've regained the majority of your feeling, but your pinky and ring finger still have room for improvement—keep doing the exercises I showed you." His voice was very professional.

"What exercises did you run Hermione through last night?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know why I try." Harry said, putting out enough plates for everyone.

"Wouldn't want to make Potter jealous, Red." Draco said,

"You took her to an aquarium?" Ginny asked, "Good choice."

"She'd never seen sea otters." Draco said, sitting down next to Hermione and taking his plate.

"He knew my patronus from being on the Inquisitorial Squad." Hermione said with a grin, making Ginny snort.

"I forgot just how big of a prat you are." Ginny said.

Draco had enough pride to look arrogant, "Some of us were rule followers."

Hermione snorted, "That definitely wasn't us."

"Come on Mione! We followed rules." Harry argued.

"When it was convenient!" She retorted, "I'll never forget the first time we nearly got expelled."

"When was that?" Malfoy asked.

"First year, when we were looking for the Philosopher's stone." Harry said.

"You didn't make it a year without breaking the rules?" Malfoy asked.

"Are you really surprised?" Ginny asked.

"No—maybe reluctantly impressed." His response made everyone laugh.

"When can we go on double dates?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"My lawyer says I have to wait until my trial is over." Malfoy said with a wry grin.

"Your lawyer sounds smart." Hermione said with a grin.

"She's a little know-it-all." Malfoy agreed, earning him a slap on the back of his head. He chuckled, "I got to go pick up Scorp—Granger, I'll see you on Wednesday?" He motioned his head and Hermione got up to follow him.

"Are you going to snog her?" Ginny asked

"Figured I'd save Potter's gentle disposition." Malfoy said with a grin as he turned into a room and closed the door.

He threw a silencing charm around the room, which Hermione was sure would annoy Ginny.

"What time Wednesday?"

"Probably late dinner—around 9?"

Hermione nodded, "My place or yours?"

"I'll come to yours since I don't know when I'll be done." He said, looking at her chin.

"What?" She asked, but he had tilted her jaw up.

"You have bruises—I gripped you too tightly." He mumbled, turning her neck to the side.

"Seriously? I have bruises?" She asked.

Malfoy was already murmuring spells to heal them, "You had bruises—I'll be more gentle next time."

Hermione shook her head, "That was bloody fantastic—please don't."

"I'm going to enjoy figuring out your kinks, Granger." He said before he snogged her senseless, never letting her once dominate the kiss, "I'm leaving."

"Bye Draco." She managed to say before he disapperated.

Hermione walked out toward breakfast, only focusing when she heard Ginny laughing.

"Girl, you are in trouble with that one." Ginny said with a giggle.

xxXXxx

She ended up not seeing Draco on Wednesday for dinner. She received a note from him during the day, apologizing but saying he would be out too late to think about dinner. Hermione was understanding, she was knee deep in prepping for trial. The date had been set, and they would go in two weeks. But she still wanted to see him to make sure that their first date wasn't a fluke, so she wrote him back saying to come over no matter how late he got off.

Hermione had pre trial prep all over her kitchen, furiously writing her opening argument. She had written two other ones, but it hadn't seemed right so she threw them out. The clock chimed one thirty in the morning; Hermione rubbed her tired eyes. Draco had never responded to her owl, so maybe he wasn't coming over.

No sooner had she thought that did the floo sound, and Hermione looked up. Immediately, she got up, rounded the couch. The kiss was brutal as she began tearing clothes off.

"Is this a booty call?" He asked.

"I am shameless." She assured him, making him laugh as he continued to pull off clothes.

"I am too tired to think of anything creative." He confessed.

"We don't have to do anything if you don't want to." She murmured. His body stiffened, it was like a challenge had been issued.

"Strip." He ordered. Hermione instantly started to quiver in delight, her lower belly heating in anticipation. The dark tone implied that he had thought of something to do.

She reached behind her and unhooked her bra, letting it slide off her shoulders. Looking at up at him, his eyes were roaming her body in unadulterated appreciation. Hooking her thumbs in her panties, she slid them off.

"Sit." He pointed to the couch, so she sat naked on the couch in her own living room. He pulled off his sport coat, carefully putting it down on a lounge chair so it wouldn't wrinkle. His white shirt was unbuttoned, revealing his undershirt, "Put your feet up."

Hermione already clenched in excitement as she moved her feet so that they were up on the couch. The cold air moving against her already wet folds made her breathe faster. The position left everything in view to him as he sat down on the coffee table across from her. He sighed in contentment as he looked down at her cunt.

"I think in this situation it would be best to address me as Sir, understand?" He asked, his tone serious and dark. Hermione nodded.

"Yes Sir." She murmured.

"Do you remember the safety words?"

"Yes Sir, red for stop, yellow for a warning and green for go." She answered again.

"Good, now—touch yourself." He ordered.

A blush spread on her cheeks before she could help it, but she didn't object as she took two fingers along her slit. It was already wet as she dipped two fingers inside of her and spread the wetness up along her hard clit. Her breath hitched as she watched him stare at her.

Her motions were small along her clit, bringing her closer to release. She dipped her fingers inside of her again, getting them wetter before rubbing her clit again. Her chest arched as she got closer, heat spreading up her thighs. Her legs opened wider as her hips twitched in anticipation. Her orgasm got closer and closer, so she moved her fingers faster.

"Stop." He ordered.

Hermione thought about not listening to him, but she pulled her fingers away regretfully. The torture had heat spreading down her thighs, and she moaned.

"Merlin." He said, the same dark tone made everything quiver, "You are beautiful." The complement made her blush. It was so erotic to be touching herself with him still fully clothed, his eyes piercing. He was quiet, still staring.

"Sir?" She called, bringing his attention back.

"To the bedroom." He said, motioning.

She nodded, standing up on shaky legs as he followed her to her room. When they did, she turned around to look at him.

She didn't know how to say what she wanted next, so her face was red.

"What is your question?" He asked, perceptively.

"Can I suck your cock?" She blurted out, and a wicked grin spread across his face.

"May I suck your cock—" He trailed off like she wasn't done.

"May I suck your cock sir?" She asked, her face bright red.

"You may." He said.

She kneeled in front of him, eagerly unzipping him. She pulled his pants down with his boxers. Giving him time to step out of them, she tossed them aside. Looking up at him, she smiled before taking a long stroke with her tongue on the underside of his cock. He moaned in appreciation. For a moment, she worried about her performance, but she shook that off before swallowing him. She swirled her tongue along the top before bobbing back down. His hands weaved into her hair as he dictated her pace.

"Use your hands." He ordered, so she reached up with her hands to take what her mouth couldn't. When she cupped his balls, he moaned, so she took it as a good sign before rolling them, "Again!" He growled.

She built up a familiar rhythm of bobbing down and using her hands. Though her jaw hurt from being open, his hisses and groans made it easier to keep going.

Abruptly she was pulled back, he yanked her up by her hair. It hurt, but she didn't have time to protest before he kissed her.

"Back on the bed." He said, releasing her hair, "I want those legs wrapped around my hips when I come inside you." He pushed her back and she fell onto the bed. His hands went along her thighs, "I thought about your cunt all week." He said, "I came last night thinking of burying my cock inside of you."

The thought of him masturbating to thoughts of her was nearly enough to make her explode. He pushed the pillows off the bed, motioning her to move up toward the headboard.

"Granger, I am going to use a spell to keep your hands tied up, ok?" His tone wasn't as dark, so she knew he was genuinely asking if it was alright.

"You're green." She promised.

A flick of his wand had both her hands tied up by the head board, she wiggled around experimentally and it gave her little movement.

"Next time I'll tie your feet too so you're completely at my fucking mercy." He growled, gripping her jaw so she was staring at him.

"Not tonight?" She asked.

He shook his head, and she was relieved he said no. Not because she didn't want to eventually, but maybe it was too much for now.

She cried out as he pushed inside of her.

The sounds of sex echoed in the room, the orgasm that had been denied flowed with a vengeance—but his thrusts did not falter. Her hands pulled on the ties to grab his shoulders, to dictate his furious pace, but they didn't move—and she didn't want them to. Though she wanted to rub her clit, touch her breasts, her hands remained where they were.

She came again before he finally did, heat spreading all the way down to her toes.

His head was on her chest as she tried to catch her breath, her hands still tied above her.

"I have to go." He groaned.

The words made her entire body freeze, unwarranted tears came to her eyes.

"Now?" She asked, trying to keep her voice calm, but he must have heard it because he pulled himself up to look at her.

"Shit." He grumbled, reaching for his wand to release her, "No, not now." He said strongly, but tears were falling down her face.

"I—I don't know why this is happening." Hermione said, burying her face in her hands.

"It's called a sub drop." He told her, "Emotions are more at the surface while playing, and they remain high after. Endorphins and such are elevated, making it easier to have a more emotional response. I should have been more careful."

"But it wasn't anything crazy." She said, wiping tears as he gathered her up into his arms.

"Doesn't matter." He assured her, "Plus, I don't think you have ever had this type of relationship before." She shook her head, "So each experience will be new for you—so even more reason to be emotional." He paused, "Was it because I said I was leaving? I can't stay the night here but I will stay until you feel better."

She looked guilty, "You said it and I remembered—something bad that had happened—and it made me think you were leaving—like gone forever. Which doesn't really make sense." She vainly rubbed away more tears.

He grinned, kissing her cheek, "You don't always have to be rational, Granger. And high emotions tend to make people more irrational. And I know this, I shouldn't have played with you and then just leave—even someone seasoned needs after care." He adjusted his hold to bring her closer, "Why does leaving make you upset?"

"It was when I was searching for Horocruxes." She said, "Ron and I were—whatever we were at the time. And he left. He just left Harry and I—but he left me to fight Voldemort on our own." She had more tears come up, but they just streamed down her face, "So when you said you were leaving—I just had that feeling all over again when he walked out and disappeared."

He rubbed her arms, "I won't play with you when we have a short amount of time." He assured her, "So this won't happen again."

"Will we do this every time we have sex?"

"No." He said solidly, "Sometimes I will just be your roguishly handsome boyfriend."

She laughed against his chest, tightening her arms, "I'm sorry I dropped."

"I should have been more careful." He said, looking down at her and kissing her forehead.

"You can go—I am sure you want to get home—it's late."

"I'll wait until you're asleep." He said.

"When will I see you again?" She asked. "Assuming you're not running away yet."

"Not yet." He said with a cocky grin, "Friday?"

She nodded as sleep began to creep over her, "Night."

"Goodnight Granger."


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter! I hope all the east coast people slammed by the snow are being safe. I had to dig out my car today, so I am getting some well deserved rest.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Hermione had paperwork spread all over her desk late Friday night. She knew it was when typical young people to enjoy themselves on Friday, she found Friday nights extremely productive. She sipped her hot tea and was confused when the floo went off.

"Why am I not surprised to see you in on a Friday night?" Malfoy asked, making her grin.

"I'm working on your case, Malfoy, you better be grateful." She said sternly, but the grin undermined her stern tone, "Where is Scorpius?"

"Home with the sitter—but I wanted to at least wanted to say hi this week." He said as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Bring him over, we can eat dessert and have a slumber party." She said.

"Granger—are you sure? He is eight." He looked skeptical.

"Bring him over, Draco." She said with a brilliant smile then he shrugged and was out the floo.

It was a little bit before the floo went off and the two were back in pajamas, she turned to the little one with a bigger smile. Scorpius launched himself into her arms, and Hermione gathered him up into her chair.

"Scorpius and I were about to have dessert." He held up a tub of ice cream.

"Yes please." Hermione said.

"Is this my Daddy's case?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes." Hermione said, looking down with him on all the paperwork.

"There's a lot!" He said,

"Cause your Daddy likes to give me lots of work." Hermione teased.

"Daddy, don't give Mione more work." Scorpius said, and Malfoy scoffed.

"She likes it." He said, winking at Hermione making her laugh. Hermione put Scorpius down on a bar stool, sitting next to him as Malfoy scooped out ice cream.

"Did you have a good week at school?" Hermione asked.

"Uhm—yes! We learned all about cells in the body and how they make up everything!" He said excitedly, "That plants use—photo—photo—

"Photosynthesis!" Hermione said.

"Yes! Daddy didn't know it! You're smart Mione!" Scorpius said excitedly.

"Your son beating you in muggle knowledge?" Hermione said with a laugh.

"I am ashamed—my ancestors are rolling." He assured her, passing her ice cream as she giggled.

"I am very proud, Scorpius." Hermione said, kissing his cheek.

"Thanks Mione." He said, his blush rising in his cheeks.

"So, you two want to watch a movie?" She asked.

"Yes! I love movies! Daddy doesn't have a telly." Scorpius said with a frown.

"Well, I'm muggle born—I have a telly." She said, giggling as she walked to the couch.

.

Waving her wand, the pull out couch in front of the television opened up and flicked her wand to put in a kids movie that she enjoyed.

"Come on." She encouraged Scorpius as he left his empty bowl and followed him to the living room and helped him climb up into bed. The movie started playing as Scorpius snuggled down into her chest, Draco slid in on the other side.

"What movie is it?" Scorpius asked.

"It's called Toy Story." She said, "It's all about how your toys come to life when you aren't looking."

"They come to life?" He asked excitedly.

"Watch." She encouraged, and he nodded as he turned to the TV.

Scorpius was instantly enthralled.

As the movie went on, Hermione lay down with her arm around Scorpius, whose eyes stayed glued to the television set. As it went on, Hermione felt the lightest touch from Draco on her hand, she turned to him. The look on his face was so soft, she had never seen him like that. It was gratitude for the evening, he was thankful she liked his son. Very carefully, so he could pull away if Scorpius saw, he held her hand. Hermione understood that he wasn't ready to tell Scorpius about—whatever relationship they had.

The movie went on and at some point Draco fell asleep, he looked exhausted from the entire week.

.

"Hermione?" Scorpius asked once the movie was over.

"Yes?" She whispered back.

"I liked that movie." He said, lying down next to her.

"I liked it too."

"Am I allowed to fall asleep here?"

She giggled quietly, "Your Daddy is already asleep—so you can be too."

"Mione?" He said, wiggling closer to her, making her smile.

"Hm."

"Are you going away once my Daddy's trial is over?" He asked, and Hermione was shocked. Young children could be so perceptive.

She pushed back his blonde hair out of his face, "You're one of my friends—I'm not going anywhere. I promise." Scorpius placed a careful kiss on her cheek, hugging her tightly after word before snuggling into her chest. Hermione hugged him close, refusing to let go as sleep took over her.

.

Hermione blinked awake to see a head full of blonde hair in front of her. Scorpius was pulled tightly to her chest, still fast asleep. She looked over him and saw that Draco was staring at both of them. She smiled sleepily, putting her head back down.

"Breakfast?" He whispered, and Hermione nodded. She sat up, leaning down to carefully pull out her arm underneath of Scorpius. Once they were both out of bed, Hermione cast a spell that would keep the area around the bed quiet so Draco and her were free to talk and make breakfast.

"I don't know how you can be around him and not cry because he is so adorable." Hermione said with a grin.

Draco brushed a stray curl behind her ear before kissing her, "Thank you, for having both of us."

"I like him better than you anyway." Hermione said.

"You do?" He asked with his eyebrow raised.

"Technically, I've actually liked him longer."

Draco chuckled, his voice still gruff from the morning before placing another chaste kiss on her lips. Hermione flicked her wand to get breakfast started.

"What are you doing today?" Malfoy asked.

"My plan was to get some laundry done—clean up a bit." She said nodding to her kitchen table, "What's on your agenda?" She asked.

"I usually spend the weekend in after weeks where I'm busy with work—Scorpius doesn't like to go places when I am gone so much. We bought a new puzzle—so we're going to do that." Malfoy said, "You're welcome to join us."

"I'd love to!" She said.

"Mione, I'm hungry." Scorpius said, rubbing his eyes before climbing onto a barstool.

"I'm making breakfast." She said.

"Did you like the movie Scorp?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes! I liked Buzz Lightyear the best." Scorp said was he bounced on the seat.

"Buzz Lightyear to the rescue!" Hermione said with a grin, making Scorpius smile.

"I liked the movie too."

"Daddy, you fell asleep after five minutes!" Scorpius said in an exasperated tone.

"You missed a good movie." Hermione said, pulling an omelet off the cooktop and giving it to Scorpius first, the next went to Malfoy and then she finally ate.

"Mione, my Daddy is staying home all day today."

"So I heard!" Hermione replied, "Can I come too?"

"No—I am just going to be with my Daddy." Scorpius said decidedly, Hermione raised an eyebrow, swallowing the urge to grin at his serious face.

"Scorp—are you sure Granger can't come?"

"It's a Daddy and Scorpius day, you can come tomorrow." Scorpius told her.

"It seems Scorpius has spoken." Hermione said, looking to Draco.

Draco cast a spell over his son, which assumedly meant he couldn't hear what they were saying because he said, "Come over at 9 tonight."

"Dad!" Scorpius said too loud, "I don't like this spell." He scowled, making Hermione laugh.

"He'll be in bed by then—unless you don't want to come over."

"I'll be there." Hermione assured him.

Draco removed the spell, "That better?"

"Yes." Scorpius grumbled.

.

Hermione was grateful they left because it gave her time to get some things done. She did her laundry, worked more on Draco's case. But there were other things she wanted to research—she got books on dom/sub culture. She knew what it was and had heard of it, but she wanted to know more—especially with the way Draco and her relationship seemed to be headed. She had questions she wanted to ask him, to get a more clear view on what a relationship with him would be like.

The clock seemed to move agonizingly slow until nine o'clock, and the closer it got the slower the clock went. She wasn't sure what to expect when she asked him.

She flooed over, her arms crossed over her chest as she prepared to see Draco.

"You look like you're ready for war." Draco said, thrusting a glass of wine into her hands.

"I don't mean to." Hermione said with a sigh, "But I have a couple of questions."

He looked at ease in his own kitchen, his sleeves rolled up and his shirt untucked. Smiling, she stepped into his personal space and kissed his lips.

"Hello." He greeted her softly.

"Hello, how was your day with Scorpius?"

"Is this one of your questions?" He asked, his eyebrow rose as he teased her.

"No." She said stubbornly.

He hummed, kissing her again, "It was great, we worked on a puzzle and went to a sandwich shop he likes, then the park."

"Sounds like a great day." She commented, and he nodded his agreement, "Are you a dom?" She asked, figuring she would just go straight into it.

"I have been in some relationships in the past." He said honestly, running his hands down her arms as if trying to get her to relax.

"Do you want that in our relationship?" She asked.

He nodded, "Yes, I enjoy a dom/sub relationship—but the terms are up to us. You are new to it, and I don't want to overwhelm you." He furrowed his brow in thought, "Not that you couldn't comprehend it—but doing it can be overwhelming for those who have never dabbled before."

"I don't know much about it—so I wanted to do some research and I went to—

"The library." He finished with a smirk, and Hermione smiled before nodding.

"Yes, and I know that the dom/sub relationship can be created on guidelines we agree to. My problem is—I am not sure what guidelines I can agree to because I don't know what I like." She said with a frown.

"I know that, so we can set up guidelines and change them. It's not like I asked you to do this in stone, Granger." He teased.

"I know." She said with a sigh, "I just like to have a plan. I do it with my work schedule, I did it at Hogwarts."

"Then your sex life will be no different—we plan out what we are going to do ahead of time and agree on what to do—and then we do it." He said, "And we agree on rules—just like Hogwarts."

She laughed at his comparison, "What is an example of a rule?" She asked.

"No playing when we cannot stay the night." He said, making her blush. He leaned down to kiss her cheek, "Do not feel guilty, Hermione." He said.

"Sorry, I am trying not to." She whispered, "Would there be rules during sex?"

"Call me Sir." He said.

"Would it be whenever we are alone?"

"No—I think having a relationship that is constantly sub and dom is exhausting. I only require it while we are playing." She liked that, so she nodded. The thought of always having to watch what she said around him made her wearied.

"And if I agree to the rule and didn't call you Sir?"

"You would be punished." He said, his eyes flashing, "But you didn't like breaking the rules at Hogwarts, so I think you will enjoy following my rules. And you agree to them, so there would be no rule that I set that you wouldn't want to follow."

Hermione nodded, "Can I ask a question?"

He grinned, "Yes, Ms. Granger." He teased.

"You pulled me off of you when I was giving you a blow job." She said, her face turning bright red, "I just—want to make sure—did you pull me away because I was horrible?"

His hands gripped her butt tighter as he pulled her close to him. She stepped between his legs as he was leaning back on the counter.

"I wasn't going to be there very long, so I was only going to cum once. When I did, I wanted it to be inside you." He said bluntly, "And on that note—I would like to make a rule that any question you have about your sexual performance, you ask me as soon as possible. No dwelling on it for days before working up the courage to ask me. Do you agree to this rule?"

She let out a breath, "I agree."

"There will be punishment if you don't follow the rules." He taunted.

"I think it is a good rule for me." She agreed, letting out another breath.

"What?" He asked.

She looked up to him with a smile, "I like this—I like talking about sex. It makes it so much more relaxing—I feel like I can enjoy myself."

"That is the goal, Ms. Granger." He said with a cocky grin.

"I assume you have different toys?" She asked.

"I do—would you like to see them?" He asked, and she nodded—too scared that her voice would show her nerves. His finger went under her jaw, pulling it up. She didn't know she had stopped looking at him, "Where is that Gryffindor courage I have heard so much about?"

She giggled, "Is it a scary dungeon?"

He scoffed, "No, come on little lioness cub." He had grabbed her hand, moving toward his room.

She walked to follow him, but he turned around and pulled her up into his arms, putting a strong kiss on her lips as his long fingers weaved through her hair. When he pulled back, he had a goofy grin on his face, "I don't remember the last time I was this excited."

"Well, come on then Mister Dungeon Master." She said with a smile.

"Not a dungeon." He promised, "I lived in one for too long."

He walked into his bedroom and up to a closet, he tapped his wand on the door and she heard some shuffling around before he opened it up.

Inside were rows of fun things she had read about. Paddles, whips, all sorts of things to bind her with, some things she didn't understand, nipple clamps and other fun things. He stood back as she began walking around, her hands running along the velvet they were displayed on. When she looked back to him, he motioned for her to continue. Next came an entire display of different dildos and vibrators. She was shaking a bit, though she wasn't sure what from.

When she looked to him again, he was behind her so she was able to lean back on his chest.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Admittedly a little overwhelmed." She said, turning into his grasp, her head falling against his chest. She breathed in, smelling his scent of peppermint, pine and a deep masculine scent she couldn't put a name to.

He kissed her head as he rubbed her arms up and down, "Running away screaming yet?"

"No, I've seen scarier dungeons than this." She murmured, making his grip tighten all the more, "That wasn't an invitation to talk about it—I'm just saying." He let out a breath and wrapped his arms around her more.

"You have anything to do tomorrow?"

"No." She answered, "Well besides the usual chores."

"You can stay the night—I should have asked this earlier, I apologize."

"I can stay." She assured him.

"Then, lets go to bed."

"I have to go home to get my pajamas." She said, looking up at him.

"Go." He told her, kissing her on the lips.

"I will need them?" She asked.

He chuckled, "Yes, I think you have been overwhelmed enough for one night."

Hermione went back to her own apartment to change and let out a breath. Of all the possible horrible outcomes, that was not one of them. She was glad she had not run for the hills. Once she changed into pajamas that were cute enough, but not overly sexy, she went back to his house. He was sitting in his bed with a book open, without a shirt on.

"I usually sleep in my boxers or nothing." He explained as she crawled into bed next to him. Tucking into his shoulder, she sighed, "Potter came over today."

She stiffened, sitting up and staring at him, "You're alive—is he alive?"

He scoffed, "The boy who lived? Of course he is alive." She let out a huff.

"What happened?"

"He just came over to threaten me." Turning over to grab her wand, she was going to go yell at Harry Potter, "Granger." Draco stopped her by grabbing her wand arm and pulling her back to him, "He is very protective over you, and very explosive when it comes to me, so of course he felt the need to act this way. I would have been worried if he didn't want to protect you."

She frowned, "You say it like that and it almost makes me glad he threatened you."

He chuckled, kissing her head, "He merely informed me that if I was using you for my own personal benefit, or to destroy your life, that I would find myself in an Azkaban cell next to my father." Hermione was quiet, scooting closer to him.

"I am glad you didn't come to blows." She said.

He frowned, "It may have come to blows—but I am an immeasurably talented healer." He said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes, groaning as she moved away from him, "I regret saying that so much."

He laughed, grabbing her and pulling her back against his chest. She wrapped her arm around his chest. He put his book on the side table as he lay down completely, and Hermione put her head on his chest.

She looked out over his chest and watched it rise and fall underneath her head. Letting out a breath, she squeezed him tighter.

"Hermione." He called to her after several moments.

"Yeah." She said.

"Do you think you will run away?" He asked, she stiffened at his question, "I'm not trying to have a too deep conversation about this—but I am very used to people seeing deep dark secrets and not being able to get through it."

She moved off of his chest, laying her head next to his. He looked at her, his dark grey eyes swirling. There was a wall he had put up, she could see it. He was preparing for her answer to be unsure. She didn't want to give him an answer he wanted to hear, she wanted to give him an answer that was her own.

"There are many things I don't know." She admitted with a grin, "I don't know what the future will bring, and I don't know how this complicated of a relationship is going to work out." She took a breath, "But I do know that, even if I decided not to see you romantically anymore—I wouldn't run away. I care about you and Scorpius too much. I care about your future career, I care about Scorpius's future. I won't disappear because I find something out about you that I can't handle." She smiled, "You're the only person I have had sex with besides Ronald—so I think it's safe to say that you're stuck with me, in one way or another, until you tell me to go away."

He nodded and she wiggled closer to him, putting an arm around his waist. She could tell he was still digesting what she said and that all of his previous experience told him not to trust her. Every person had walked out of his life—including his own parents. Sure, they still talked to him, but it was all contingent. He never had friends or family that liked him for no other reason but to do so.

"Say it, Draco, so you know it too. I am not going anywhere." She swore.

"Granger is not going anywhere." He said softly.

"Good, it seems we are both in need of reassurance that the other isn't going to leave." She said. He kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight Granger."

"Goodnight Draco."

* * *

 *** _I do not own Harry Potter and I do not own Pixar or Toy Story_**

 **Hope you enjoyed this more fluffy chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14

**I had so many reviews and favorites on the last chapter! Ah that was so exciting! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as well.**

* * *

Hermione had boards up all over her office. Most of them were covered in fake arguments that she had created. She had just gotten the defenses witnesses that were being called to trial. Each side would get to present five witnesses that would help their case. The first week of trial would be St Mungo's witnesses, and the second week would be hers. After that, the judge and jury would decide Malfoy's fate. She had delivered the list of her own witnesses, and Malfoy had not been pleased with the list at all. But he wasn't allowed to object if he wanted her to win the case. Though he was angry, he had not left in an explosive rage like she was so used to dealing with. He calmed down by the end of the day, and she stayed the night at his house that night.

"Malfoy, today is pick up Quidditch at the Potters." Hermione said, "You and Scorpius are still coming?"

"Yes." He said, "I am not running away because I am angry with you." He was pouting now, "Are you sure?" He asked.

She sighed, "Draco—I know it doesn't seem like it's worth it, but I promise having your father on the witness stand will help you."

"How?" He asked, this was improvement. Every time she had said that before he would growl and shut down, refusing to talk.

She grabbed his hands, forcing him to look at her, "Many jury people will see you as a Death Eater, but they won't be able to see how different you are from the unreformed Death Eaters. Using your father, I will show how he still very much believes his old principles. You will stand out in stark contrast to your father, of that I am sure."

"Then why not use any Death Eater that still believes in his principles." Draco growled.

"This is your father—if I can show you have been abandoned by your own family because you have turned your back on your prejudice ways, it will be sympathetic to a jury."

"I hate pity."

"Well, I won the gag order on the case—so no press allowed in the courtroom. And I asked for anti-animagus spells on the courtroom as well as anti-polyjuice potion spells—so only the jury will know."

"Smart." He huffed.

"I am the brightest witch of my age." She said with a grin, "Now let me do my job."

"I'm going to let off steam with sex after my father takes the stand."

"That sounds reasonable to me." Hermione forced herself to say, trying to be as casual as he was but she failed. He looked at her with hunger in his eyes, but he blinked and they were back to normal.

"I have a meeting with them next week to try to force a settlement earlier." Hermione explained.

"Do we want them to settle?"

"If they offer enough." Hermione said with a nod, "Trial is risky, it could go either way. You could end up the winner with millions, or nothing at all. A settlement guarantees something."

"What will you settle for?" He asked.

"Aside from them publicly admitting their wrong doing and a couple million galleons—not much. They are getting mad at me because I am so unwilling to settle." She looked at him, "What do you want out of this?"

"An apology, the ability to get equal pay, and to do my job." He said gruffly.

"That's what I thought." She said, smiling at him.

"Don't look at me like that." He huffed.

"I'll look at you however I want." She said smartly.

"Hn." He said, smile back on his face, "Careful, I might take you over my knee."

"I might like it." She taunted, leaning closer to him.

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't." He said, raising his eyebrow as he grabbed a belt loop on her dress and pulled her closer, "One day I will fuck you on this desk." He promised her, making her shiver.

"Not today?" She asked.

His thumb was rubbing her hipbone, making her quiver "No, you'll look thoroughly fucked and we can't have people knowing that about us yet."

She licked her lips and stared at his, wondering if she could convince him to change his mind.

"You can stay the night?" He asked, his voice deep.

"Yes." She said, her voice sounded strange—she didn't know she could sound like that.

Draco smiled and it reminded her of smiles she saw back in school. She usually didn't like the smile—but this made her shiver in delight.

"You look like you have been working hard." He said, turning away from her as he looked around the room. She let out a sigh in frustration.

"Yes, I've been working with Neil on all of it—he thinks we have all the angles covered."

"Good."

Hermione sighed, "You don't like Neil either do you."

Malfoy smirked, "You chose me, I am not afraid you will do otherwise—I just don't like him." She smiled, relaxing in his hold, "I am not your ex."

"I know." She murmured, turning her lips up for a kiss that he easily indulged.

"Come on, we have to go to the Potters." He shook his head, "Never thought I would say that."

She giggled, "Come on then." She tugged on his sleeve, "Take us there."

He grinned before kissing her forehead before they apparated off.

.

Hermione was keeping an eye on food as she half watched the pick up game. It was the same group of people that had been over for her Halloween party, plus Luna and Neville and then Katy wasn't there. Teddy and Scorpius were on brooms earlier, but then found themselves sidelined later in the game. Both of them were occupying themselves with Quidditch action figures.

"Mione." Teddy called, and she turned over to him, "Watcha reading?" He asked.

"I am reading books that will help Scorpius's dad's case." Hermione answered.

"What case?" Teddy asked.

"Mione is helping my Daddy." Scorpius said, crawling up on the same couch as Hermione.

"Why?" Teddy asked.

"Cause my Daddy used to be a bad guy, but now he is a good guy." Scorpius said, "And Mione is making sure everyone treats him like a good guy now."

"Why was Mr. Malfoy a bad guy?" Teddy asked Hermione.

Hermione tried to keep her eyes from widening at Teddy's question.

"Daddy said he didn't know he was a bad guy until it was scary." Scorpius said simply, Teddy changed his hair from black like Harry's to the same as Hermione's.

"Can I do that?" Scorpius asked, pointing at Teddy's head.

"One day when you're older—but never quite like Teddy." Hermione said.

"Can you do that?" Scorpius asked.

Hermione laughed, "Maybe if I looked it up—I never really liked changing my appearance. Harry will know how—he is an auror. We gave Ron a beard once."

Teddy and Scorpius both giggled.

"I want a beard!" Scorpius said.

Hermione laughed, "You can grow one when you're older—maybe we can give your Dad a beard."

Scorpius laughed, and Teddy crawled up on the other side of her on the couch, "Harry had a beard once—he came home from a mission with a beard. Grammy made him shave it." Grammy was Mrs. Weasley, though technically not his actual grandmother, Mrs. Weasley treated him like a grandchild.

"I'm sure Ginny had something similar to say."

Teddy shrugged.

"I'm hungry." Scorpius said.

"There are some snacks out—but dinner will have to wait until the game is over." Hermione explained, pointing up at the sky just as Ginny dodged Charlie and threw it into the hoop.

"Yay Ginny!" Scorpius yelled.

.

Hermione continued to watch the game with Scorpius and Teddy. Teddy had snuggled into her arm, he was a little snuggle bug when caught in the right mood.

"Why can't we play?" Teddy asked.

"I promise you can when you are older."

"But you don't fly Mione." Scorpius pointed out.

"I don't like it." Hermione told him.

"You don't like Quidditch?" Scorpius sounded horrified.

"Mione is weird." Teddy said with a sigh.

"I don't find any pleasure in death defying tricks." Hermione said, "Like that one." She pointed as Malfoy and Harry both dashed off toward the snitch. Frowning, Hermione turned to the kitchen, smiled to herself, then held out her wand.

"Time for dinner!" Her voice boomed out. All of the Quidditch balls fell from the sky and flew back into their case.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, annoyed he did not have the chance to catch the snitch.

"I almost had it!" Malfoy growled.

"And you two would have been mad at each other all evening." Hermione said with a wave of her hand.

"And we were up by two hundred points anyway." Ginny said to Harry, kissing his cheek.

"Why are you two on the same team?" Malfoy asked with a scowl.

"It is much much worse if they aren't." Neville assured him, landing next to him.

"Last time we all had to leave." Luna said sadly.

"They get unreasonably competitive." Hermione explained, standing up. Malfoy's eyes sparkled at her, but she didn't think anyone noticed. He looked incredibly sexy with his hair windswept and a bit sweaty. She looked forward to the day when she didn't have to worry about showing signs of their relationship.

"Mione, I need your help." Ginny called to her, she was in the kitchen. Hermione shook her head and walked toward Ginny, Luna followed suit, "Can you check the oven?" Ginny asked.

Hermione opened the door to poke at the different sides, "They're about done."

"Good—Harry! The steak is ready for the grill." Ginny slid a tray of raw beef across the island, which Harry grabbed before it slid off.

"Hermione, when did you start seeing Draco?" Luna asked, making Hermione stiffen, "Oh—I didn't know you weren't telling people." Luna murmured, Hermione looked around, everyone was outside so no one heard but Ginny.

"I am representing him, so we are playing it on the down low." Hermione said carefully.

"He was good to me while I was imprisoned at Malfoy mansion—brought me food when he could." Luna said, "He is a good man."

"I think so too." Hermione whispered,

"You caught onto them quick." Ginny said with a grin.

"It seemed fairly obvious." Luna said.

"I thought they were making it obvious too—Malfoy doing all his stunts closer to Hermione, the eyes." Ginny teased.

"Yes, the eyes made it obvious." Luna agreed.

Hermione's cheeks were pink.

"Potterette, Potter wants beer and I am apparently a house elf." Draco said as he walked in.

"Over there." Ginny pointed to a second fridge underneath the island, a smirk on her face.

"What?" He asked.

"You two will never keep it quiet if you act like this around each other." Ginny said. Malfoy scowled, "Much better!"

"I'll make sure to scowl in court." He growled.

"It is a good thing Neville and Ron are oblivious to everything—George will definitely find out if he hasn't already." Ginny said, looking out to see George and Angelina by Harry.

"Does coco puffs know?" Malfoy asked Hermione, pointing at Luna.

"Draco!" She cried out, biting back a smile at the reference. He had clearly been watching her telly, "You aren't allowed to watch TV anymore."

"You are not hiding your relationship well at all." Luna said, frowning while shaking her head.

George popped his head in and shut the door behind him, "Are we talking about how Malfoy and our Mione are totally boning?" He asked with a grin at Mione and a waggle of his eyebrows. Hermione groaned, covering her face, "Admit it, darling, I called it."

"You called it?" Ginny asked, staring at her brother.

"At your wedding—I caught them talking." George said with a big smile, grabbing a piece of asparagus and eating it, "Told her she needed to get over Ronald by hopping on someone with better prowess." George winked at Malfoy.

"Someone tell me this is a nightmare." Hermione grumbled.

"I am happy you're getting some." George said, kissing her head.

"Ginny? How was Italy?" Hermione asked,

"Nope, not changing the topic to my trip—but nice try." Ginny said with a wink.

"Some friend you are." Hermione huffed, "No one tell Ron—and no one tell the press."

George had the dignity to look insulted, "Like I would tell those leaches."

"You might tell them for fun." Hermione said with a sigh, and George looked even more insulted but grinned, "I wasn't trying to give you ideas!"

George grabbed a scalloped potato, "Just glad you have someone better in the sack than Ronald."

Malfoy smirked, which she didn't even acknowledge.

"You guys are ridiculous." She said

"George, you should have seen her after the first night." Ginny said with a big grin.

"You are no longer my friend." Hermione told her, reaching out for her glass of wine.

"Did she look thoroughly fucked?"

"George!" Hermione snapped, looking horrified which only made most people in the room laugh. Malfoy, respectfully, kept his mouth shut but he looked amused, "I expected more arguing than this." Hermione admitted.

"He knows if he messes up we'll kill him." George said with a smile, looking directly at Malfoy, "And no one will find the body."

Malfoy held up his hands in surrender.

"I'm happy for you Mione." George said, kissing her head. Hermione only grunted.

"Steaks are ready!" Harry said as he walked in the room with Ron.

"I have a friend coming over." Ron announced.

"Oh." Ginny said, "Who is he?"

"She is going to be here in a minute." Ron said. It was awkwardly quiet, Hermione's hands were sweating.

"Well, I'm going to take some food out to the table." Hermione said, grabbing a tray and walking out. She placed it on the table, as soon as she did there was a ring of the doorbell. Ron got up and walked around to the front door.

"Ron!" She heard.

She recognized that voice.

That was the woman that he cheated on her with. Her stomach dropped and her mouth went dry as she walked out the back door. Her hands were shaking as she walked down the porch steps and out into the back yard. She walked toward the basement doors, but before she went inside she put her head against the door.

"Hermione." Draco called to her.

She turned around to face him, "I'm sorry—I shouldn't have reacted like that. I know it doesn't make sense, because I brought a date—but he." She swallowed, "That's her." Her hands shook as she pushed curls back behind her ears.

"What can I do?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said, waving around her hands, tears coming to her eyes, "My brain is just—why would he do that? Why would he bring her here? Merlin. Sometimes he makes me feel so worthless." She put her head in her hands, brushing back tears. Strong arms grabbed her, moving her inside the basement as they walked through the open play area and into the storage room in back. Malfoy waved his wand before turning back to her, his hands tight on her arms.

"Then you are going to listen to me." His tone was dark.

"Yes sir." The words poured out of her, and almost centered her in a way she didn't expect.

He grabbed her jaw forcefully and pulled it over to look at him. His eyes were dark, nearly black, "This will be all about you." He told her, "Tell me when you are about to come." He ordered. He pulled her up and put her on a bench, pushing up her dress around her hips.

"I am going to show you how much your delicious cunt is worth." He ripped through her lace underwear; his fingers instantly found her clit. His fingers moved in a circle before dipping into her core, "Let me tell you something, your useless of an ex boyfriend didn't appreciate your beautiful cunt." His fingers moved out from inside her and then brushed the wetness around her clit, "Did he ever do this to you? Did he ever finger fuck you while all your friends were upstairs?"

"No Sir." She moaned, she put her head on his shoulder as her breathing got faster.

"Because your lousy ex had no fucking clue what he had." He growled into her ear as his fingers went faster and his thumb worked her clit, "I don't want to go a day without my cock, my fingers or my tongue in your cunt. He had a gold mine, and he didn't know how to mine gold—did he? Did he make you fall apart like this around his hand?"

"No Sir." She managed to say, leaning back against the wall again.

"No. He never had a chance to see how fucking gorgeous you look when you cum." He growled.

"Please sir." She murmured.

"What do you want?" He asked, rubbing her clit faster.

"Your cock." She said as she ground back on his hand.

"Not necessary—this is about you." He told her.

"Please." She whispered, "I want to feel you inside of me."

"Only because you asked so nicely." She heard him unzip a second before he shoved himself into her. She gasped, finally feeling deliciously full.

"Thank you Sir." She said as tears slipped down her face as he continued to pump into her. He gripped her face. She kissed him with all her might as she got closer and closer to the edge, "I—, I'm so close." He had ordered her to tell her when she was going to come, and she felt pleasure in knowing she had followed his orders.

"Let go." He ordered in her ear, and that was all it took for her to fall apart. He was close behind as he came inside of her. She was still coming down from her high, but she managed to pull his head toward her. The kiss was brutal, she pushed into him as much as he pushed into her, his large hands wrapping tightly around her.

"Never doubt your worth." He whispered.

"Hermione! Malfoy!" It was Ginny knocking on the door. Hermione stiffened.

"The sound spell comes in so you can hear who is at the door, but no sound goes out." Draco explained as he helped her down off the bench and then zipped up his pants, "In case I use a silence spell with Scorpius."

Hermione nodded, pulling her dress down, "My underwear?"

"Here" He handed her the broken pieces which he waved his wand to fix as she quickly slid them back on. "Hold up." Draco called, turning to Hermione he kissed her hard on the lips.

Hermione grinned at him, waving her wand, "The door is open."

* * *

 **Drama! Woohoo! And we aren't done yet. Part two will be up next week!**


	15. Chapter 15

**For those pulling out their glasses going... Where did the plot go? Don't worry. It will come back. But I can't resist a bit of fun before that happens. I've written ahead, so expect another update next Monday. This chapter will contain more fun things rather than plot, so if that bothers you than don't read!**

 **Please enjoy**

* * *

"Merlin." Ginny said, swinging open the door, "I may kill Ronald—do you want me to get rid of him?"

"No." Hermione said with a sigh, "I'm coming up—running away was dramatic."

"Is that her?" Ginny asked. Hermione nodded as Ginny turned as angry red as her hair, "He brought that bitch to my house?"

"We are going to be the bigger person—don't attack her Ginny."

"I'm spilling food on her." Ginny grumbled, "If you fuck around with her like my brother I –

"I'm not, Ginny." Malfoy said. Maybe it was using her real name, it made her pause. She nodded her head.

"Come on then—a fun dinner just turned to an evening in hell." Ginny shook her head, "Come on."

.

The three walked back up the steps, and Hermione ignored the stares as she tried to dart to an open spot at the table. Ginny gracefully took the one next to the blonde sitting next to Ronald.

"Daddy! Sit next to me." Scorpius called out, breaking the tension somewhat as Hermione sat down in the open chair next to Draco. The blonde seemed to be as awkward around Hermione as she was around her, so they didn't bother to introduce themselves.

"Mione, pass me the potatoes." George requested.

"You already ate half of them." Hermione said, rolling her eyes as she gave it to him. It must have given permission because everyone started talking. She was glad to have the calming presence of Malfoy next to her, and Scorpius eventually got down off his seat only to sit with Hermione. Though he was a bit big to be on her lap, she made do with it.

"Hermione." Scorpius called to her, "Why is your hair so curly?"

Hermione laughed, "I have too many thoughts going around in my head, so they go out into my hair." She teased.

"Mione." He giggled.

"Why are you here?" Ron asked Malfoy, "Mione didn't bring people over from her other cases."

"Malfoy requires a more hands on approach." Hermione said before she realized what she was saying, making Ginny practically snort her drink to contain her laughter.

"Afraid he'll mess up the case?" Ron said, leering an eyebrow at Malfoy.

"I was kidding, Ronald. He came over because Teddy and Scorpius are friends."

"And I have enough beer and wine to keep him here." Ginny added with a smile.

"You let him play with Teddy?"

Hermione gripped Scorpius tighter.

"Say one more thing on this subject, Ron." Ginny said with a smile. When he went to open his mouth, Ginny did the most impressive bat-bogey hex Hermione had ever seen. Scorpius and Teddy laughed so hard that Hermione feared they couldn't breathe.

"Fine!" Ron yelled.

"Good, because now it comes to the most important part of why we are having this party." Ginny said.

"We have a gift for Teddy." Harry said, pulling out a small maroon wrapped box.

"Of course its maroon." Malfoy mumbled to himself, making Hermione grin as she looked over to him. He smiled back at her before they turned back.

Teddy clapped his hands as he grabbed the small box, eagerly ripping open the packaging. When he came to a small box, he looked up at both Harry and Ginny before he opened it. His brow furrowed as he pulled out a key.

"What is it?" He asked Harry.

"I talked to Dromeda, if you would like to, you may come here and live with Ginny and I. Either way, that key will open up a room here—which will be yours whenever you want it."

Teddy looked up at Harry with owlish eyes before scrambling off his seat, running around the table and practically tackling Harry out of his seat.

"You mean it? I can live here?" Teddy asked.

"If you want to."

"Yes!" Teddy screamed, throwing his arms around Harry. Hermione blinked fast, wiping tears from her eyes before squeezing Scorpius tightly.

"Why are you crying Mione?" Scorpius whispered.

"Cause I'm happy." Hermione said with a grin, kissing his cheek.

"Want to go see your room?" Harry asked.

"Yes!" Teddy said, standing up as the rest of the table stood up as well.

"Bet it's maroon." Draco said and Hermione whacked his arm.

"Come on." She nudged him along.

.

Teddy loved his room. And contrary to Malfoy's belief, it was not maroon, though there was a large Gryffindor poster on the wall that roared if you roared at it. It took only a little convincing after that for Scorpius to spend the night as well, though Hermione could tell Malfoy was glad Scorpius wasn't staying the night.

"You are a horrible father." She whispered too him as they followed the group down the stairs.

He chuckled softly, "I spend practically every waking moment with the kid—I think I am ok."

"I'm teasing." She said.

He winked at her, "I know—but now I can fuck you on the kitchen table, the couch and my bedroom."

She glared at him, "Draco!" She snapped before looking around to make sure no one heard him. She was still smiling at him as she walked down the steps only to see the blonde straddling Ron's lap. Hermione stiffened as the woman giggled.

"Tell me how much better I am than her." The blonde said.

"Ron what the hell?" Ginny yelled. Both Ron and the blonde stiffened, she quickly scrambled off of Ron's lap and he stood up only to adjust his pants to hide a problem, "You!" Ginny pointed at the blonde, "Get out of my fucking house."

"I—I am so sorry." The blonde muttered before apparating off.

"She didn't mean it." Ron said.

"I don't want to see you right now." Ginny said, "I want to know what the hell you have done with my brother, because you aren't him. My brother would never treat Hermione they way you have been treating her."

"How am I supposed to treat her? She left me!"

"You messed that up yourself Ron!" Ginny yelled back pulling out her wand, "Now get out of my house."

"Harry!" Ron called for back up, and Harry just held up his hands.

"I think it is best if you leave." Harry said, a scowl on his face. Ron apparated off in an angry huff, and all eyes turned to Hermione.

"I think I am going to head out." Hermione whispered, she couldn't breathe in the room. It was such a strange sensation because she was sure a tidal wave of emotions was about to hit her, but nothing was crashing.

"I am so sorry, Mione." Ginny whispered.

"I can go beat the shit out of him." George offered.

"No—no I think I am just going to go home—Draco?" She called, he grabbed her arm.

"Ready." He said, his steady voice in her ear made her sigh in relief as she apparated to his house.

.

It was strangely silent at his house.

"Hermione?" Draco called to her, and she turned to him with her brow still furrowed.

"I know I should be upset—but honestly I'm not." She said slowly, like she wanted to be sure it was true. And it was true, she wasn't upset, but she was afraid she was going to be at any second, "I just—I feel like I should be." She laughed, "I had that moment where I am just so unbelievably glad I don't date him anymore." She smiled up at him, "Our relationship is complicated, sure, but you make me so much happier that it is difficult to miss him. Sure, Ron can still make me feel worthless and insignificant because he doesn't care about my feelings at all. But I think that's what makes me sad more than anything." She let out a breath, "I know I freaked when I first knew it was her—I don't know. I am an emotional rollercoaster." She shook her head, "The ridiculous thing is we broke up months ago—maybe because this is the first time I have seen him with someone else." She frowned.

"You will get over it." He promised her.

"I know I will." She said, grinning up at him. He leaned down and kissed her lips.

"It has been an emotional day for you—are you sure you want to play?" He asked, but she was already nodding.

"Are you kidding? I've been looking forward to this all day."

His chuckle was dark as he pulled her closer, "Go to the playroom and strip down to your knickers. Stand by the door and wait for me." She couldn't help the infectious grin that went across her face.

"Yes sir." She said, giggling as she turned away from him and raced up to the playroom.

Opening the door, it was as clean as she remembered but this time she looked more at the room than the toys on display. There was a bed on the far wall as well as a contraption, which she assumed she could be suspended from. Her mind whirled in excitement of what Draco would do—but he told her before he would start off small.

Her eyes flashed before she started to strip. He had said to take off the clothes in the playroom, so she folded her clothes by the door before she stood back up and waited for him. Her heart was pounding in excitement, waiting for him to come up. After a bit, she bit her lip to keep from yelling for him to ask where he was. When she heard him rummaging around in his room, her heart leapt. Waiting was torturing her, but it was also making her aware of every small sound he made as he walked to the door.

He walked into the room wearing black slacks and nothing else. His eyes were so dark they were almost black as he smirked at her. He walked past her, and her first inclination was to follow him but she dared not move. He had not told her to move. Music came on, a piano playing, but she did not turn to look at him.

"Do you remember your safe words?" He asked, making her jump because she had not realized he was right behind her.

"Green, Yellow and Red, sir." She said

"Good." He complimented, "Come with me." He said, and she turned to follow him. They walked to the suspension contraption and he placed her in the center, "Stay." He ordered as he walked away and grabbed leather cuffs with fur lining, "Hold out your hands."

She did as she was told, her heart racing as he buckled the leather cuffs, one on each hand. Once he was done, he guided her hand up to the metal bars above that he locked the cuff onto, keeping her hands above her head. Her heart was racing as he stood unnecessarily close to her, his breath going over her lips. She wanted desperately to capture them, but she knew he was teasing her on purpose.

"If you say _relashio_ they will let go, but I hope that you would tell me before that becomes necessary. Keep your legs wide. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." She said breathily before he backed up. He went over to a black case that looked about the size of a textbook. He opened it and walked over to her, there were several different blindfolds inside, many different colors.

"Which one would you like?" He asked.

"It is my choice, sir?" She asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him. He had a smirk on his face.

"Yes." He assured her.

She looked back at the box and noticed the black one and several grey ones, there was a Slytherin green blindfold and one Gryffindor maroon blindfold that looked brand new.

Looking back up at Draco, she smirked, "The green one, sir." She said.

He chuckled, grabbing the green blindfold and placing the box back on a shelf. He walked behind her, carefully tying the blindfold so it did not snag in her hair.

"The blindfold will be for you to remain unaware of what I am using to bring pleasure. Due to your inexperience, I do not wish for you to look at a toy and think it will cause pain. Some of them might cause you pain." He switched to speak into her other ear, "But you might like it." She smiled, wanting to push back into him but denying her instincts, "Do you think you can last three strikes?"

"Yes sir." She replied instantly.

"Good." He said, kissing the small spot behind her ear before disappearing.

All Hermione could hear was the music, though she strained her ears to hear what he was choosing. On the soft carpet, she could hear his feet move around, but it was impossible to know exactly where he was.

She yelped when she felt something touch her stomach; it shocked her as it ran over her abs and then across her breasts. She arched upward, biting back a moan as her hands gripped her cuffs.

"Count the strikes."

Her heart was pounding as she waited for the strike, not knowing where or when it was going to come made her ever nerve on end. She gasped when the strike went across her left nipple. It was a painful sting at first that warmed into pleasure as it faded, "One." She moaned.

The second sting went across her bottom, making her jump up onto her toes as she giggled at the surprise, "Two."

The last slap went across her right nipple, this time she experienced even more pleasure at the strong pinch that made her groan, "Three."

"That was a crop, Ms. Granger." His voice was deep, "How did you like it?"

"I liked the crop Sir." She said.

"Good."

It was hard to strain her ears over her already heavy breathing. She heard him come close this time, could feel his body heat as he walked around her. This slap was very different as there were multiple different striking points. She gasped at the sensation, counting out loud. She liked this one, making her moan even more when the second one hit. Pulling on her cuffs, her head tilted back on the third strike.

"A flogger." He told her, "I have many different kinds."

He came back with another flogger she found out as three more strikes came across her body— she was sure to count. She noticed he constantly moved around her body, making sure that one area did not get more attention than other—but it also gave her body a chance to recuperate and keep at it longer. One flogger blended into another crop and into another flogger. Soon, she wasn't able to keep count of the toys but only the number of strikes.

"Checking in Granger." He paused between toys.

"Green—sir." She managed to say between gasps of breath.

"Of course you are." He said, and though she couldn't see it but she knew a smirk was on his face before he reached for a toy. This flogger felt familiar—maybe? Was he using the same one from the first one? It was not as strong, but it still made her cry out in need.

When the first crop went against her clit, she screamed. Her hands yanked on the chain in a natural reaction to protect herself. The sensation made her legs wobble as she prepared for another strike. She was more ready for the second strike that made her head drop down, gasping for breath.

"Two is good for now—you are so wet I am sure it hurt more." Draco told her, his fingers running down the inside of her thighs so she could feel how they glided with ease. Her legs were shaking, her knees bent as they struggled to keep her standing, her shoulders pulled up.

"Yellow sir—my legs." She said.

"Good girl." He complemented her on the usage of her safe words. He pressed his chest against hers, pulling her up so she was standing straight—though the only reason she was able to remain that way was because he had a strong enough grip on her. It was then that she could feel how hard he was—until then she had no indication he was enjoying himself and feeling him hard against her made her moan.

"Please sir." She whispered, wiggling against him. There was no strength in her arms to pull herself up to wrap her legs around his waist even though she wanted to. His hands went to her head and her blindfold loosened. It took her a second to orientate herself, blinking away tears that she didn't know were there until that moment.

"Look at me." He ordered, and her eyes immediately found his. He backed away, her legs seemed to have an adrenaline kick which allowed her to stand. His hands went to the button on his pants, and she really wanted to congratulate the zipper for keeping that impressive erection from escaping. He took off his pants and tossed them to the side. Though she wanted to rub her legs together, she knew he wouldn't like it. His gaze was as dark as she had ever seen it as he looked up and down her body to stare at his handy work.

"Merlin you're beautiful covered in red welts." He said, reaching down to stroke himself. Hermione moaned, her head wanting to fall forward but he had told her to look at him.

"Please sir." She whispered. He chuckled before striding up to her and pulling her legs up around his waist. In one quick movement, he was inside her—making her scream out.

What little strength she had left in her arms she used to pull herself up as he drilled into her. Each thrust made her scream as his strong arms held her up, her head tilted back as she could focus on nothing else but her impending orgasm.

"Am I allowed to cum sir?" She asked.

"Fuck yes. I want your tight cunt to come around my cock." He growled. She relaxed against him with that knowledge as an unbearable heat started in her toes. Pulling up on her arms, she moved in time with his thrusts, each one getting her closer to the edge.

"Please—sir—I can't." She sobbed.

"You are going to come around my cock, Granger. You are going to come so hard you will scream and lose your voice." He whispered murderously into her ear, "Fucking come Granger."

That's was all it took. She came so hard her vision went white as she screamed. She didn't feel him release because she was so wrapped up in her own but knew he did from his erratic thrusts. Hermione was barely coherent as her hands were freed and she was carried to a bed.

"Stay still." Her Sir ordered, and so she didn't move—though she didn't think she could anyway. Her heartbeat was still fast as he moved out of the bed but came back. She gasped at the cool sensation as he messaged a cream onto her ass, "It will help with the bruising." He told her, "Do you need anything?"

"Water, Sir." She mumbled, her throat dry.

"Do not move." He ordered again, coming back with a water bottle with a straw. He helped her move so she could sit up and drink some. She drank until he deemed it enough, then let him take it away, "Lay back down, I have more balm to help with the bruising."

She nodded, "Can I fall asleep sir?" She asked tiredly.

"I think you've earned it." He said, kissing her head.

"You'll be here?" She asked as her eyes fluttered shut.

"I'm not going anywhere." He swore.

.

A gentle shaking roused her, "Hermione?" He whispered.

"Hn." She hummed.

"Want to go to my bed?"

"Yes." She said, moving to get up.

"I'll carry you." He said, gliding his hands underneath her to pick her up.

* * *

 **Woohoo! Another great smut chapter. I've been writing the outline of trial scenes in future chapters, so it is nice for me to come back to a fluffy fun break.**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks for all your remarks on the last chapters and the favorites! I love seeing other people appreciate my work. I hope you like this chapter. As I write him, I think Draco would have some severe issues with avoiding his problems. And Hermione is going to confront some of them in this chapter.**

 **This chapter is also a little shorter than usual, but last weeks was a little longer.**

 **Please enjoy.**

* * *

Hermione rolled over, trying to get warm. She frowned as she realized she was in bed alone, but she could smell food. Sitting up, she grinned as she grabbed an undershirt and boxers that were left out for her—she assumed. She hissed as she stood up, sore from last night's activities. It took her a moment before she was able to put on clothes and then make her way to the kitchen.

"You're awake." He said with a smile, he looked completely at ease in an open white button down shirt, "Usually you beat me."

"You wore me out." She said, sitting down at the table, wincing at her sore bottom, "Ow."

"That would be the paddles." He said with a smirk.

"There was a paddle?"

"You do not remember?"

"It all kind of blended together." Hermione confessed, her cheeks tingeing pink. He walked to the table, leaning down to take her lips. She easily molded into him, his kiss passionate.

"You did well." He complemented.

"Thank you." She whispered, "I'm surprised my voice is not more scratchy."

"I woke you up this morning and gave you throat healing potion."

"I don't remember." She said,

"Clearly." He smirked.

"You're an arse." She informed him.

"Yes, but I have a very great arse." He said, winking before turning back to the kitchen. Hermione got up and followed him. He looked the most relaxed she had ever seen him in a white undershirt and boxers. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, she leaned into his chest and wrapped her own arms around his waist. His right was still able to cook the eggs.

"Yum." She complemented.

"Want to pour the pancakes?" He asked, nodding to the pancake batter.

"If you give me a breakfast like this every time I am here, I will never leave." She warned him, letting go of him to grab the pancake batter.

"You still have guest status—when you lose it breakfast will be cereal." He assured her, making her laugh as she poured pancakes onto the skillet.

"I don't understand what you get out of it." She confessed, "I feel like I got all the fun."

Draco scoffed, "Are you kidding? I get to pick out toys and see which ones make you squirm—I can show you which ones you liked more." He said with a smirk, she still frowned.

"But I feel like I was the center of attention—you were focused on me."

"In some ways yes—but I enjoy the puzzle of figuring you out. I enjoy having everything at my command."

"So it is a control thing?"

"Partially—as well as many other things." He admitted, "I am not a good submissive, I was one so I could learn to be a better dominant—but I wasn't very good at it even when I had a partner I could trust." He shrugged, "So if you want to switch roles—maybe once in a blue moon." He said with a wink.

"I think I would find it intimidating—I would be afraid of hurting you."

"You will learn—as I did." He said confidently.

"How did you get into it?" She asked.

"Sure you want to know?" He asked.

"Yes." She nodded her head.

"My parents are a dom and sub—so I have known about it my entire life. Many pureblood families are in such relationships."

"Please do not tell me your mother is the dominant—I won't believe you." Hermione said.

He smiled, "She is not."

"But that still doesn't answer how you got into it."

He shrugged, turning back to plate the eggs as she flipped pancakes, "I hated the idea of it for a long time—it seemed so ridiculous. My parents are constant—she always refers to him as Sir—and Master in other situations. But it wasn't that necessarily, it was that she never got a choice. His word was always law." He frowned, "As I got older I realized that their relationship was not healthy and it was no fault of the sexual kinks they enjoyed. So I began dabbling myself. My father taught me how to be a dominant like him—and I took some of his lessons to heart for his experience—but others I knew were wrong."

"How did you know they were not in a healthy relationship?"

"I heard my mother use her safe word once—my father ignored it. She had no choice but to do whatever he told her to." Hermione frowned, running her hands up and down her arms, "Trust is so imperative in what we do—that is why I enjoy it— because a person has to trust me to know their limits, despite my past, despite their past. A person has to trust me to stop when asked. Not many put that kind of faith in Death Eaters."

Hermione grinned before kissing his cheek, "That is a very beautiful way of putting it." She liked that he thought of sex that way—it gave her hope. She wasn't sure what she was entirely hopeful for—but it was hope.

"You told me to stop last night." He said.

"I did?" Hermione said, trying to think back, "When I said yellow?"

"No—you said stop followed by lots of no's." Draco said carefully, "I checked in after my third strike to make sure you were alright and you said green—but I was worried you had forgotten your safe words." He wasn't looking at her, "You always have a choice, Granger, to walk away. I will never do anything against your will." He swore.

Hermione quickly set the pancakes aside as she turned off the burner, reaching out to him. She kissed him, wrapping her arms around him as she poured as much emotion as she could into him. He didn't respond at first, but then his strong arms wrapped around her, his one going through her hair. He broke away, pressing his forehead against hers with his eyes closed, breath going over her lips.

"You alright?" She asked.

"I will be." He said, not letting go yet.

"I am not going anywhere." She whispered, his grip tightened before it loosened again. He pressed one final kiss to her forehead before walking towards breakfast. Hermione frowned, grabbing her own breakfast before sitting down next to him. She slid her chair closer. He sighed, wrapping his left arm around her and Hermione could feel his hand shaking. She grabbed it and kissed his knuckles, snuggling into his shoulder.

They ate in silence, but she could nearly feel him still brooding. Anytime she tried to get him to talk, he answered with one or two words. He pulled his arm off of her at some point as they continued to eat, but her frown deepened. They got up and walked over to the kitchen to do the dishes and once she had put them in the drying rack, she turned to Draco.

"It wasn't your fault, Draco." She said calmly.

"I don't want to talk about fucked up shit." He growled, staring down at the clean dishes and moving away from her.

"Draco!" She said, running after him, "Sit." She ordered him.

"I don't want to talk about it!" He yelled.

"You aren't going to talk—you are going to listen." She said, putting her hands on her hips, "Now sit."

He looked like his former Hogwarts self as he scoffed, rolled his eyes and sat down. The fearful little boy was coming out because the man did not know how to deal with his past.

"It was not your fault." She told him again.

"IT IS MY FAULT!" He yelled at her, moving to sit up, but she pointed back down to the couch, "I CHOSE TO BE THERE—I CHOSE TO BE A DEATH EATER!"

"And you chose to forcefully populate the magic world?"

"No." He said grumpily.

"And you chose your age group? Why didn't they pick they older Death Eaters, Draco? Why did they choose you?"

"I don't know." He said, closing his eyes.

"How did you ingest the libido potion?" She asked calmly.

"They forced it down my throat—I held my breath but I couldn't, they held my nose shut—I couldn't breathe and I went to take a breath." He shook his head.

"And were there people holding wands to your head?" She asked as she sat down on the coffee table next to the couch, putting her legs between his.

"My father and Aunt Bella made sure the deed was done." He said, and then his eyes flashed open, "I'm sorry."

"She hurt more people than me, Draco. Harry isn't fond of her either—she killed Sirius."

"I'm sorry." He said again, closing his eyes.

"My point was that she has hurt a lot of people—it is comforting to me that I am not alone." She let out a breath, "Do you blame me for being tortured by Bellatrix?" She asked.

His eyes flashed open, "NO!" He yelled, then he realized how close she was and backed off, "No." He said again.

"I chose to follow Harry—I chose to fight Voldemort. Using your own logic, I therefore deserved to be carved up by Bellatrix."

"I don't believe that."

"Than you cannot believe yourself to be guilty either." Hermione said softly, climbing onto his lap. His hands wrapped around her as he let out a sigh.

"Agree to disagree?" He offered, sounding weak.

"I think I won my case Malfoy." She teased, careful not to say Mr. Malfoy because she knew he hated it.

"I knew I hired you for a reason." He complemented and then he let out a breath, "Thank you for talking me off the edge."

"You always talk me off mine." She said sensually and Draco groaned, "You said you wanted to let off steam after your father takes the stand with sex—I assume you would want to—"

"If I ever say no to that, it is someone else under polyjuice potion." He said, standing up with her still wrapped around his waist. She laughed as he walked toward his room.

* * *

Please review!


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter and the favorites/follows. It is always nice to see people who like the story as well. I do try hard to stay true to the heart of the original characters, even if I make them my own. So to be complemented for it is more than I could ever ask for.**

 **And for those of you wondering where the plot went, it's back!**

 **Please enjoy!**

* * *

Hermione was staring at herself in her best suit. She shook her head before pulling on one of her buttons.

"Should I be encouraging you or you me?" A voice came by her bedroom door and she turned to see Draco. He looked incredibly handsome in black dress robes, very business professional.

"You look great."

"I always look great."

She laughed, taking one last look in the mirror, "First day of court—I'm always a little nervous."

"You will do great." He said, kissing her forehead, "Now tell me how we're going to win."

"We are going to win because you deserve it—and it's the right thing to do." She promised him.

"And I'm immeasurably talented."

"And you're immeasurably talented." She said, and he smirked.

"I knew I could get you to say it again." He grinned.

"I don't know why I am dating you."

"Technically all we are doing is sneaking around." He pointed out.

"Well then, I don't know why I am sneaking around with you."

"Probably has something to do with my incredibly large—

"Harry!" Hermione called out, moving out and around Draco.

"Just came over to wish you luck—Mrs. Weasley made you breakfast." He said, his cheeks a bit red as if he heard what Draco was about to say, but Hermione was going to happily pretend that he didn't.

"She didn't have to do that."

"She has made one for you before every other trial—or so she informed me when she brought it over this morning. She was afraid she would be unwelcome here—and I think she suspects you are seeing someone."

"How does she know?"

"How does that woman know anything?" Harry said as they walked into the kitchen, "She knew Ginny and I were trying to get pregnant only three hours after we had decided it."

"Ginny's trying to get pregnant!" Hermione said.

Harry's cheeks turned pinker, "I wasn't supposed to say that."

Hermione squealed before hugging him, "This is so exciting!"

"With Mrs. Weasley as her mother it shouldn't take long." Draco sneered, and Hermione turned to him.

"I swear a fifteen year old version of you just walked into the room—I hope not because I am not into pedophilia." Hermione said and his smile instantly fell, "Congratulations Harry."

"She's not pregnant yet." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Still exciting" She could tell he didn't want to talk about it, so she obliged, "—let's eat." Hermione encouraged, trying to eat something before the trial started.

"You will be great Mione, you always are." Harry told her.

"And if you aren't it's just my entire career." Draco added.

"Thanks." She said flatly.

"I'm here for inspiration." He teased, taking a bite of breakfast.

"Ginny wants a double date this week in the muggle world if you guys can swing it—I know a couple of places we won't be seen." Harry admitted, "Used to take Ginny there a lot when we were first seeing each other after the war ended—it was unbearable with all the paparazzi."

"What days are good? I'll need to find a sitter—that's another thing—Granger, I have something to tell you but I don't know if you want to know before opening arguments or after."

"Before." She said as soon as she heard his tone, "You'll have me worried if you don't tell me."

"My mother is having a ball next Wednesday—you are invited because you're my lawyer—and my mother got me a date because she doesn't know about us."

"So I'll go alone?"

"No. I can get Blaise to take you—or if you'd rather have a Gryffindor." Blaise was Malfoy's one friend who knew about the two of them dating.

"I'll go with Blaise to cause less of a scene." Hermione said confidently.

"So—double date night?" Harry said, bringing them back around.

"Yes!" Hermione said excitedly, "I think Thursday this week will work best. Draco?"

"Yeah, I can get a sitter for then."

"I can have Andromeda take Scorpius."

"Would she want to?" Draco turned the question around.

"Yeah—she said she wants to see you and Scorpius. Teddy keeps going on and on about you guys—so I think she is curious more than anything."

"Great—now we have to get to the Ministry." Hermione said.

"You will do great Mione." Harry said, kissing her cheek.

"Bye Harry—see you Thursday."

.

Hermione walked into the courtroom with Draco behind her, the flashes of cameras going off as they walked inside. The press could not be present inside the courtroom, but they could camp out. And since it was impossible to apparate in and out of the ministry courtrooms, they had to walk past the cameras. The trial would go on for two weeks. The first week, St. Mungos would have a chance to make their case with five witnesses and the second week would be Hermione's witnesses.

The judge was one that Hermione liked. She was known for standing strongly for justice and was not easily swayed by arguments that were not to the letter of the law. As a highly rational being, Hermione liked to argue with the judge. The judge had been somewhat friendly to her outside the courtroom as well and they had gone for drinks a couple of times.

"Mr. Hanger and Ms. Granger." The judge greeted as she sat down, waving for them to sit down as well.

"Judge Wilson." Hermione said as she sat down.

"Good morning judge." William said.

"Well, St. Mungos surely doesn't need so many lawyers—but you may conjure extra chairs." Judge Wilson said, nodding to the line of lawyers on the St. Mungo's side.

"You had to give them a fair trial." Draco whispered to Hermione, making her smirk and try to cover a giggle.

Judge Wilson looked over to the jury, "I must impress upon each and every one of you how important this trial is and how unbiased you must be. You must look at each argument for its worth. You have many lives in your hands—it is important that you take this seriously." Judge Wilson turned to Hermione, "You may start with your opening argument."

Hermione nodded, standing up as she looked at the jury, "My client Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater." She said it bluntly, they knew it anyway, "He has the Dark Mark on his arm—Voldemort lived in his house during the war." She let out a breath, "These are facts. They cannot be disputed. He had a trial shorty after the fall of Voldemort where he spent a year in Azkaban and several years probation. When he came out of Azkaban, he was told by the ministry to pick a profession. Instead of just going into the Malfoy business, as every male heir in his family has before, Malfoy chose to be a Healer as well. After passing his exams, he applied and accepted a job from St. Mungos. When I came to Mr. Malfoy about his possibility for a case, he was being paid thirteen percent less than every other single person in his position. And he had not received a single promotion, which every other Healer in his hiring class had received."

Hermione let out a breath before she continued, "It is not my intention to show you that Draco Malfoy is a great person—not even a good person. It doesn't matter if he is or is not those things. We all want to move on past the Wizarding War—but it is impossible to move on without letting those who were Death Eaters move past their mistakes. If we want them to become better people—which I assume we all do," Hermione looked at the jury, "We must give them that opportunity. Mr. Malfoy served the punishment for his crimes during the war, and he is desperately trying to prove to the world that he is no longer that same man. What I will prove is that St. Mungos knowingly stalled my clients career for no other reason than the fact that he was trying to put the past behind him."

Hermione looked at the jury, "This is your opportunity to give justice to my client. My client and his son— who has never known a world with war, who has no idea why his father was raised to hate muggles and muggle-borns. The next generation is already wiser than us—Scorpius Malfoy at the age of eight would never discriminate against me or any other muggle born. Draco Malfoy has taught his son to be a better man—now I ask you to give him the chance to be one. Give him a chance to use his skill to become a better man in a better age. Find St. Mungos guilty of discrimination, and let my client finally use his immeasurable talent for good." That last line she did put in there for him. She nodded to the judge before sitting back down in her chair.

"Is it weird that I am turned on right now?" Draco whispered, making her serious demeanor crack with a small smile.

"Ms. Granger will have you believe that this is all about discrimination. She has been in countless papers, being interviewed for Death Eater rights. What she fails to recognize is that some people are not worthy of a raise or promotion. Not because Mr. Malfoy was a Death Eater—simply because he is not a good Healer. His family is very used to paying off people to get their way, and St. Mungos refused to be swayed by this method. St. Mungos stands strong against corruption, and will not let Mr. Malfoy manipulate the system."

William opened his hands and turned to Draco, "I am sorry you feel that you were wronged, but as it has been told to you several times—you simply do not have the skill to be a healer at St. Mungos. St Mungos has a reputation for taking only the best, and what we will prove." William turned back to the jury, "Is that Mr. Malfoy was not promoted and was docked in his pay because he was not a qualified healer."

William fixed a cuff link, "We all know how ambitious Ms. Granger is. We have seen her face and know what she has done for the wizarding world—but this is Ms. Granger taking on a cause and using Draco Malfoy as a puppet for discrimination. She cares not about this particular case, only for the launch of her career. I ask the Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury to see past the war hero and to the true root of this problem. Mr. Malfoy is not qualified for a promotion and equal pay, he is not entitled to it. Find St. Mungos not guilty." He smirked at Hermione before sitting down.

"And just like that I am not turned on anymore." Draco murmured. She was glad for his comment, it broke the tension for her and allowed her to relax as she prepared for the first witness.

"I call Kurt Thoat, the President and CEO of St. Mungos." William said, and Hermione turned around to see Mary in the audience who winked at her. Mary had been assigned to get information from Kurt—and she did get plenty of information on him. Some of it wasn't extremely useful for Malfoy's case, but still good to know.

Hermione was listening intently to Kurt speak. As she figured William would do, Kurt was discussing annual reviews of Malfoy by his superiors. Many of them did not have good things to say. She wasn't surprised by this. All of these documents had been given to her before trial.

But as Mary and Hermione looked over them, they saw certain anomalies. It didn't take too long to figure out what had happened. Hermione had hoped William would use these documents for his case. It was arrogance.

"Your witness, Ms. Granger." William said, smiling as he sat down.

"Good morning Mr. Thoat." Hermione said as she stood up.

"Ms. Granger."

"Do you have a rigorous hiring program?" She asked.

"We have multiple interviews and tests."

"And once you get on boarded, what is the process?"

"You are under a one year contract, and if you do well you are put into rotation."

Hermione nodded, "And how did Mr. Malfoy perform on the original interviews and tests?"

"As a matter that is in public record, he did very well. But we have had people do well in theory, but not in practice."

"That is why you have manager reviews?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, the manager that is directly in charge of the doctor will write a review on them once a year, which is then put on file."

"How many years has Mr. Malfoy been an employee at St. Mungos?"

"Five years."

"So five reviews." Hermione concluded.

"Yes."

Hermione placed the five reviews out in front of the CEO of St. Mungo's, "Are these the reviews?"

"Yes."

"Mr. Thoat, can you please pick up the first review." Hermione instructed, and so he picked up Draco's first review. Draco said his first review had given him a sparkling recommendation that allowed him to continue to be a full Healer at St. Mungos, "Who is the manager?"

"Stanley Wring." He said.

"Who conveniently has been shipped off to India for research and is unavailable for questioning." Hermione said.

"Objection!" William yelled

"I'll rephrase." Hermione said with an easy smile, "Where is Stanley Wring?"

"He is in India doing research on a very rare Wizarding disease, his work has left him exposed and he cannot come back to England until he has been cleared." Kurt Thoat answered.

"And how many research projects has Stanley done in the past?" Hermione asked.

"He has been involved in dozens of research projects." Kurt assured her.

"How many of them out of the country?"

"He could have—

"How many, Mr. Thoat, a number."

"Zero."

"And when did he leave for this trip?" Hermione asked.

"This has been a research trip long under—

"When?" Hermione interrupted him again.

"Three weeks ago."

"Just when we starting calling witnesses." Hermione said.

"Objection!" William stood up again.

Hermione waved her hand when the judge looked at her, willing to move on, "Do you know why I want to talk to Stanley, Mr. Thoat?"

"I have no idea." He said with a wave of his hand, "He only had Mr. Malfoy for a year when he first began, and his review in not very good."

"Enough to get him to continue at St. Mungos." Hermione pointed out, which Karl reluctantly nodded his head to agree with, "Whose signature is this?" Hermione asked, pointing at another line.

"My signature, as I sign off on every review." Karl Thoat said.

"Yours is the signature on all these documents?" Hermione asked.

"Yes."

Hermione tapped the page with her wand, and the signature as it was written appeared in the air.

"This is the signature from the first document, correct?" Hermione asked.

"Yes."

Hermione tapped the signature of the final review, making it appear in the air next to the first one, "This is the one from the fifth and most recent review?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Kurt said.

Hermione waved her wand and one fell on top of the other one exactly, "Mr. Thoat, do you know the likely hood that a signature would match _exactly_ to another one?"

"No." He said, his face red.

"Astronomical. The quill itself has variations—your mood changes your signature." Hermione said, "It will look similar, minor variations to be sure, but not exactly. Do you know how to get an _exact_ signature?"

"N-No." He stuttered.

"A quick quill, which you use to sign all those tedious documents so your hand does not get so tired. So when you first get the quill, you sign a sheet and it remembers how to do your signature—exactly." Hermione said.

"Objection—what is the point?" William asked

"I'm getting to it." Hermione said, turning back to Kurt, "Kurt—how long to quick quills last before the magic wears out and you have to buy a new one?"

"I—I don't know."

"A year." Hermione answered, "Mr. Thoat, these signatures match exactly. Which means a quick quill was used to write them. How is it that a document from five years ago matches exactly to one this year?"

"I—I don't know."

"That would be impossible—because then either all of these reviews were written five years ago when my client was first brought on—or when the fifth review was written six weeks ago."

"I—I don't know." Mr. Thoat did seem genuinely puzzled, which meant that he was kept in the dark about the documents—probably on purpose in case the exact thing happened.

"Judge, I move that we throw these reviews out of evidence considering they are clearly tainted."

"Objection!"

"So moved." The judge ruled without listening to William, throwing out the reviews, before raising an eyebrow at William, "Get your evidence in order, Mr. Hanger, or I will rule in Mr. Malfoy's favor."

"We had no idea the documents were falsified." William said.

"I should hope not." The judge said, "If you did, I would have many problems if I thought you knew it was falsified—and clearly Mr. Thoat did not know either." Wilson said, "I suggest you go through your other witnesses to make sure not such a mistake is found again. Court is adjourned until tomorrow."

"That went well." Draco said as he stood up, buttoning his jacket.

"We only figured out one of his tricks—he has more that I don't know about." Hermione admitted, "Today went well—tomorrow may not."

"That's comforting."

"You don't pay me to be comforting."

"I don't pay you at all." He sneered, making Hermione grin.

"So—you won today." William said, "We will not be so careless again."

"I hope not—you are making my job very easy." Hermione said.

"You will never heal again—I will see to it." William told Draco.

"Let the better man win."

William held out a covered left arm, "The better man will win." Clearly insinuating that his arm did not hold the mark while Draco's did. William walked away with his head held high.

"Idiot." Draco scorned, looking to Hermione, "I am not the man arguing with him."

"I thought that too." Hermione said.

"Good thing you're brilliant."

Hermione laughed, moving to leave, "Ready to face the press?"

"No, but I will anyway." Draco said, "I'm going to the office after this"

"Tell Scorpius I will see him for ice cream tomorrow."

"You can't come over before?" He was trying to be vague on purpose.

"No—I have preparation tonight—and you saw me last night."

"I believe we handled you last night." His voice had changed tone slightly—and she was beginning to recognize that tone. It was one of her sir. And it was true—she had been mid freak out—typical break down from stress. She used to have them before exams all the time. Draco had come over with a bottle of wine, and had walked into a nightmare. So he relieved her stress in the only way he knew how—sex. Her mind was whirring out of control, and he brought her to the center. He wore her out so she actually slept.

"Yes, but I actually have to work tonight." She said with a grin.

"You will come over if you need anything." It was an order from her sir— she knew it.

"I will." She swore.

* * *

 **Please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm back! It's been a little while since I've updated. But that's what happens when every spare moment suddenly becomes watching Blue Bloods. I'm officially addicted. But don't worry, it has great lawyer scenes that I'm using for inspiration.**

 **Please enjoy.**

* * *

Hermione stormed out of the courtroom after day two. There was a former patient who had horrible things to say about Malfoy—but she couldn't find the holes in his story. The patient lied through his teeth but Hermione couldn't prove it. He had spread lies about Draco's abuse of him during his stay at St Mungos, and Hermione's only counter argument was that he had no proof.

"I should have prepared more."

"I was there, Mione, there was nothing you could have argued." Neil said, he was sitting across from her in her office. He sat back as he stared at her, "This one is getting to you more than usual."

"I want it more." Hermione admitted.

"I thought you didn't like him."

"I didn't."

"You do now."

"He deserves to win, Neil." Hermione said with determination.

"He does, I have seen your arguments." Neil confirmed, sitting back.

Hermione sighed, slinking down in her chair, "I have to win another argument but I can't do it if they lie at every corner. That patient—"

"He exaggerated stories." Neil agreed, "You've made it very clear from the beginning that Draco was not a great person—and you made a very good argument at the end." Neil said with a smirk.

xxXXxx

 _"Do you know how many healers in St. Mungos would have attempted the healing done on you, Mr. Kador?"_

 _"Please, call me Fabry."_

 _"Mr. Kador." Hermione said firmly, "Please answer the question."_

 _"I do not know the answer." He said._

 _"Two—one of them being the head of the Magical Emergencies Department, and the other being my client."_

 _"Anyone could have attempted the surgery." He argued_

 _"Only two ever have." Hermione told him, "And have you fully recovered Mr. Kador?"_

 _"Well—I."_

 _"Yes or no." Hermione interrupted._

 _"Yes—but his—"_

 _Hermione interrupted again, "So aside from his bedside manor which has much to be improved upon, you have made a full recovery? What would you rather have, Mr. Kador? A healer who has a good bedside manor and would have been unable to heal you, or a healer with not so good bedside manor who was able to have you fully recover?"_

 _"He is an asshole!" The patient huffed, "He forced me to go ahead with the risky surgery! I didn't have a choice!"_

 _"Do you have any proof that Mr. Malfoy did not give you a choice?"_

 _"Well—no."_

 _"If that is all the proof you have?" Hermione shrugged._

 _It wasn't a strong argument, and she knew it when she looked at the jury. There were some that sided with Hermione, but she had lost a couple. She had to get them back._

xxXXxx

"You'll get the next one." Neil assured her.

"I will." Hermione said determinedly.

"A couple of us are getting drinks—want to join us?" He asked. As soon as he did, she became uncomfortable. She didn't want to go get drinks with him and her coworkers, not after that awkward date with him.

"I think I need to focus on the trial."

"Go home, Mione. Get some rest." Neil suggested.

"You're right—I can't think when I'm this tired. Goodnight Neil." Seeing an escape route, she took it.

"Goodnight Hermione."

"Hermione?" A voice called in her doorway, and she looked up to see her boss's boss, Patrick Shwartz, whose firm she happened to work for.

"Patrick, what can I do for you?" Hermione asked.

"I hope to grab you for a few minutes."

"Of course." Hermione said, putting down her purse. Neil stood up and nodded to both of them before leaving, "What can I do for you sir?" She said again.

"This case has been getting a lot of attention." He said, a sparkle in his eye as he sat down across from her desk so she sat down as well.

"Yes, I've tried to keep it at a minimum."

"Yes, something like this doesn't matter, but I do value your efforts." He nodded, "I am here on behalf of all the partners at this firm. If you win this case, you will be offered partner."

Hermione's brain froze for a moment before she opened her mouth, "Partner?"

"Yes, I believe you have already earned it—but this will be indisputable." Patrick had paperwork in a folder, "It is here if you want to sign."

Hermione looked at them, "If I sign these, my part of the winnings will go to the firm."

"Yes." Patrick said, "Good of the firm and all."

"If this offer still stands after I win, then I will accept." Hermione told him.

Patrick grinned, "I told the board I'd make you an offer, I will tell them you did not accept."

"Did they think I would?"

"Some seem to believe since you are a war hero and a Gryffindor that you're willing to share everything." Patrick told her with a wink.

"I'm sure they are regretting my clause that I wrote in about them not sharing in my winnings."

"You were a war hero that could barely be in a dark room and jumped at loud noises—everyone thought you'd amount to nothing but no one wanted to turn you away. So, we let you make your own contract."

"Wow. That's inspiring." Hermione said flatly.

"You proved everyone wrong—so really you win in the end." Patrick assured her.

Hermione smiled, "Well, you tell the board thanks, but no thanks."

Patrick chuckled, "They had to ask, and I am sorry they did. I voted not to, if it is any consolation."

"Thank you Patrick."

"Now off with you, get a good night sleep before tomorrow. Who is on the stand next?"

"Healer Craft—he was on Ginny's case before I had Malfoy give a second opinion."

"Still call your client by his last name?" Patrick asked as he stood up.

Hermione blushed, "Habit from school days I suppose—I remind him a hundred times before he talks to the press that he has to call me Hermione."

Patrick chuckled as they both walked out of her office, her purse in hand, "Have a good evening, Ms. Granger."

"You too Patrick." Hermione said with a smile before walking off.

She went to the designated apparating point. She was a bit paranoid about others hearing her announce her destination in the floo network, so she apparated instead.

xxx

As soon as she arrived outside his house, she knew something was wrong. Her wand still out, she gripped it tighter. The door was half open and all the glass in the windows was gone. Her heart was pounding as she moved closer to the door.

"DADDY! WAKE UP!" She could hear Scorpius screaming

" _Homenum Revelio_ " There were three people inside, so she walked in slowly with her wand up. When she saw the body of Theodore Nott knocked out on the floor, she ran the rest of the way in. Draco was on the ground in his living room, blood was around him. Scorpio was by his head, sobbing.

"Scorpius!" Hermione yelled his name as she ran up to Draco, crashing to the floor next to his head.

"Mean men came and hurt my Dad!" He told her between hard breaths.

"Draco! Draco look at me." His eyes looked a bit wide as he moved and locked eyes on her, "What spell?" She asked.

"Potter." He managed to choke out as blood poured.

Her mind whirred for a second before it clicked, waving her wand, " _Vulnera Sanentur_ " She murmured like a song, and watched as the blood flow slowed. He nodded at her and she assumed he meant again, " _Vulnera Sanentur_ " The blood residue slowly removed pulled back into the wound. When he nodded again, she said, " _Vulnera Sanentur_ " The wounds stitched themselves up, and Draco took a deep breath.

"Scorpius." Draco said as he sat up.

"Daddy." Scorpius sobbed as Draco pulled him to his chest.

"You're alright—you were so brave." Draco said as Hermione sat back on her feet, finally letting out a breath. Her hands were shaking, so she pulled them up to hide it from Draco.

"Is Nott friend or foe?" Hermione asked, keeping her voice even.

"Friend." Draco said, looking to Hermione, "The guys that did this to me took him to get past my wards."

Immediately Hermione stood up and walked over to Nott, " _Rennervate_ " He gasped as his eyes opened.

"Granger, where's—Draco!" He said as he sat up, looking to his friend, "Shit—you're alright. Fuck, man. I'm sorry. They grabbed me walking out of work."

"It's fine." Draco said, shaking his head as he continued to hold Scorpius close.

"You need dittany on those wounds." Hermione said. Draco nodded, "Do you have some?"

"In my medicine cabinet."

Hermione nodded as she turned and walked down the hall to the bathroom toward the medicine cabinet. She opened it up, her eyes scanning as she found the dittany bottle. As she went to shut the door, she realized how badly her hands were shaking. She nearly dropped the bottle as she set it down on the counter. Hermione tried to let her body come down from the stress, but she couldn't help the tears that welled up in her eyes.

What if she didn't get home in time? What if she didn't know the counter-curse? Her body continued to shake.

"Granger." Draco's voice called from outside the bathroom. She quickly wiped her tears as she opened the door.

"Got the dittany." She told him.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I wasn't the one bleeding out on the floor." She replied with anger.

"Hermione." He said softly, and it nearly made her heart burst.

"Don't." She whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. He stepped forward and brought her in a fierce hug. At first, she tried to wiggle away from him, but his arms felt too safe, his hug said so much. The first tears slipped down her face silently, but soon she started crying. Uncurling her arms from being pinned against his chest, she pulled him tightly to her.

Abruptly she pulled away, "I'm sorry! Does that hurt?" She asked.

"No." He promised.

"Well, I need to put this on your wounds anyway." She said with a halfhearted smile, wiping away her tears, "Take off your shirt." He nodded, it was in tatters anyway. He undid the cuff links before taking off his shirt and then his undershirt. After he did, Hermione pressed her lips to his and then plopped him down on a stool. It was clearly used so Scorpius could be tall enough to reach the sink, but it would work for now.

Carefully, she dropped the dittany into the mostly healed wounds. Draco didn't wince or hiss, though she knew it had to be painful. Remembering how much he cried out when Buckbeak injured him, she knew this man was very different than the boy she punched in third year. This was a man who was used to not crying out at pain, who was used to being silent.

She walked around to heal the wounds on his back, and a small gasp let out at the amount of scars over his back.

"What?" He asked, looking at her.

"I never noticed." She confessed, her fingers going along the healed scars before she dropped the dittany in the new ones.

"You've seen me naked." He said, turning over his shoulder to look at her.

"Yeah, but I am not focused on that when you're naked." She said with a blush, "And the other time I was blindfolded."

He smirked, "I am glad I ravish you so completely that you do not see my scars." She pressed a kiss to his shoulder.

"Thank Merlin I came home when I did—to think, I almost had drinks with Neil."

"What?" Draco asked, turning around to look at her.

"Not like that, it was with coworkers—but you are very cute when you're jealous."

"Not jealous." He growled, "And I am not cute."

She giggled, "Of course you are." She lay her hand on his shoulder, willing tears to go away before sighing, "Let's go."

"I'm going to get another shirt."

xxx

Hermione walked into the kitchen, Nott was standing next to Scorpius, who was sitting on the counter.

"How are you doing?" Hermione asked Scorpius, pushing his hair off his forehead.

"Good. Did you heal my Daddy?"

"I did." Hermione assured him. As soon as she affirmed him, large crocodile tears started rolling down his cheeks, so she held out her hands. Scorpius eagerly hopped into her arms, wrapping his legs around her waist as Hermione held him tightly. His small hands pat her back as she rocked him, "Your Daddy is alright Scorp." She whispered.

"I was so afraid! The mean men wouldn't go away and then I screamed really loud—and- and- and- all the windows broke." He stuttered. Hermione looked to Nott who shrugged.

"They knocked me out when I got here." He said.

"Did you do magic Scorpius?" She asked him.

"I- I don't know. I was scared." Scorpius clearly wasn't capable of coherent thought, so she figured she would ask him when he could catch his breath.

"You are so very brave Scorpius." She whispered, "How are you?" She asked Nott.

"Nasty bump—lost a few brain cells."

"And you didn't have that many to lose." Draco said as he walked in, as soon as he did Scorpius twisted in her arms and practically launched himself into his father's arms, "You did so well Scorpius."

"Can you tuck me in?" Scorpius asked his father.

"Yeah." Draco sounded surprised, probably because Scorpius never went to bed without a fight. He looked at Nott and Hermione, "I'll be back."

Hermione nodded as she watched him walk out.

.

"I don't know about you Granger, but I could use a drink." Nott said as he walked toward the liquor cabinet.

"Yes please, if you're offering." Hermione said with a sigh, sitting down on one of the bar stools.

"What's your poison?"

"Scotch." She answered. Nott turned to look at her with a raised brow, "I'm a lawyer, its part of my job description that I drink scotch." He nodded, pouring two fingers in each of the lowball glasses, "Rocks?"

"Please."

"Not straight?" He said, and she thought he was teasing as he grabbed ice cubes.

"I'm not an animal" She told him, and he chuckled as he added ice to his own glass as well.

"To your timely arrival." He toasted.

"Y—yeah." She stuttered, sipping the scotch.

"I know you're fucking him." Nott told her, and she flinched at his phrasing.

"I think he is fucking me." Hermione said.

"Well, yes, he would word it like that." Nott said, a glint in his eye.

"Y—you know?" Hermione asked.

"I was his sub for a little while." Nott admitted.

Hermione was so shocked she froze, her jaw couldn't even drop, "I didn't expect that."

"No, but you're taking it so well." Nott complemented.

"Did you tell me that to get me to run away from him?" Hermione asked, taking another sip of her scotch.

"Just testing your nerve." Nott admitted, "Draco has been through too much to have the Gryffindor Princess break his heart and then have his name smeared in the papers when the two of you break up."

"If." She corrected.

Nott looked amused, "Fine—if."

"How's your daughter?" She asked, she noticed his body instantly became defensive. If he was going to try to throw her off, then she was going to do the same.

"She is doing well."

"What is her name?"

"Sophia."

"Is her mother in the picture?" Hermione asked.

"Yes—Tracey and I share custody."

"Not like Astoria then?" Hermione said softly.

"No." Nott said darkly, "But there is an heir to the Nott throne, so that keeps my father happy." He said.

"Not going to have any more kids?" Hermione asked.

"No." Nott said, "I'm gay." Hermione was surprised he was willing to share the information, so she nodded as she sipped her scotch, "I figure if I told you I'm a sub—and I assume you're one too—that its fine if I tell you I am gay and you aren't going to run to the press."

"Are you kidding? I hate the press." Hermione scowled.

"So you are being his sub." Nott concluded, pulling up a bar stool, his eyes lit up in excitement.

"And I assume Sophia was conceived in the same way Scorpius was." Hermione fired back and he looked abashed, then she bit her lip, "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. I was uncomfortable and trying to make you uncomfortable too."

"You succeeded." He said, throwing back his scotch and then reaching for more. Hermione did the same and he poured her another glass before doing his, "I can't believe he told you."

"I'm his lawyer. He has to tell me."

"He doesn't have to tell you shit." Nott argued. He sighed, looking down at his glass before looking back up at Hermione, "Want to know the best way to suck his cock?"

She burst into giggles, "How long did you sub for him?"

"About a year—right after Scorp and Sophia were born. We needed each other to get through parenting." He confessed with a grin.

"I take it that it did not end badly?"

"No—we have been through too much together. No, I broke it off with him because I knew he'd never send me away. Should have sorted him in bloody Hufflepuff the way he is loyal to friends. But I don't want someone being with me out of loyalty—I'm looking for a different L word."

Hermione blinked, looking down at her scotch, "I can't see him in Hufflepuff." She said with a giggle.

"Can you imagine?" Nott asked with a grin, "He'd have run the whole place—but Hufflepuff Prince doesn't sound so scary."

Hermione shook her head, "I think Slytherin Prince fits him much better."

"Fitting that he is dating the Gryffindor Princess."

"Well, other than the fact that we grew up despising each other our whole life—no we are completely compatible." She said with a frown.

Nott shook his head, "Throw out all the Gryffindor Slytherin bullshite. If that, and the fact that he didn't grow up with horrible morals, then you both would have gotten along swimmingly in school. You are both too brilliant for your own good, you are both loyal to a fault, insanely competitive, and you're both stubborn."

"He only ever bested me in potions." Hermione said, and it made Nott laugh.

"He was second to you in every class by a few points—trust me, I heard about it in the common room over and over again."

"I'm sure he used colorful language." Hermione said as she took a sip of scotch.

"Yeah, but it was his father who was the worst." Nott said with a scowl, "I'll never forget the first howler that came when Lucius found out it was a mudblood that had beaten his pureblood son." Not shuddered, "I use the word only because Lucius did, sorry if it makes you uncomfortable."

"I have it carved into my arm—it doesn't make me uncomfortable anymore."

"Can I see it?" Nott asked. Hermione pushed up her sleeve, holding out her arm, "Shit, it's not red, but the scar only looks a couple months old." That told her a lot—Theodore Nott was very familiar with scars. She wondered how many he had.

"It will look that way until I die—Dark Magic."

"Well, I'll just add that to the list of reasons why I am very grateful Bellatrix is dead." Nott said with a grin that looked a bid mad, "It will be right next to the one where she forced me to drink libido potion and fuck a girl who only likes women."

"I didn't know Tracey—"

"Was a lesbian?" He said, "Yeah, they thought they should put the gay one and the lesbian together because neither one of us liked the other. Just for fun."

Hermione was quiet, "I am so sorry, Nott."

"Wasn't your fault."

"Well then, I am glad for my role in bringing down Voldemort." She was quiet before she asked, "How did you manage not to be marked? Your father has the mark."

"Yes, well, apparently being a fruit cake makes you not completely pure—leaving me incapable of taking the mark."

"If it makes you feel any better, Voldemort was a half blood." Hermione said with a smile.

"I read that in the Prophet but I thought they were bull shitting everyone. It's true?" Hermione nodded, "No shit." Nott looked at her, taking a big gulp of whiskey, "You're serious?"

"His father was a muggle."

Nott snorted, "Gosh, can't wait to tell my father. He will finally step off the edge of insanity."

"You see your father?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah—he is the only family I have left. Besides my gorgeous and beautiful daughter, of course."

"I'd like to meet Sophia."

"Yes, will Scorp and her have play dates all the time, and I suspect I will be seeing more and more of you since you are fucking Draco."

"I thought we established he was fucking me." Hermione said, grinning as she took a large gulp of her scotch. Turning to Nott she frowned, "Can I ask you questions?"

"That is an open ended one—what do you mean?" He asked.

"About being a sub—I have done research but it isn't the same as asking—"

"Someone who has also subbed for your current dom?" Nott finished, and Hermione nodded, "It'll be different for you—not just because you got lady bits, but it's different for every relationship."

"Yes, but still."

"Of course, I'm an open book. Ask me whatever you like." Nott encouraged.

"I don't get what he gets out of it." She confessed.

Nott laughed, "Well that is something I can't answer. I don't get it either. I love being a sub." He shook his head, "Draco is a good dom to start off with, he isn't going to push you anywhere too fast, but if you have a thing for canes he won't use them. He hates canes."

"I noticed he didn't have any—why doesn't he like them?" Hermione asked.

"You'll have to ask him." Nott said.

Hermione's brain whirred for a second, "His father likes to use the cane." She concluded.

"That was fast." Nott finished his scotch and poured another glass, he poured a bit more in hers too though it wasn't empty, "Your first dom/sub relationship?" Nott asked.

"Yes, the only one I have ever been with is Ronald."

Nott snorted, "Well that is certainly a sizable jump into the big leagues."

"Well, I am incredibly smart, so I am following along just fine."

Nott chuckled, "I am sure you are Miss First-to-raise-her-hand-in-class." He teased, "You are a wet dream come true." He smirked, "If I were straight, of course."

"Of course." Hermione said, a blush on her cheeks.

"You didn't pour me a drink." Draco said, walking back into the kitchen.

"The ice would have melted by now." Nott defended himself. Draco got his own glass and ice before sliding it over so Nott could pour it.

"Did Scorpius fall asleep?" Hermione asked.

"Wouldn't let me leave until he did. I had to check under the bed four times for monsters before he even tried to go to sleep." Draco said, taking a swig.

"What did they want?" Hermione asked

"They are sympathizers warning me not to use mudblood lawyers." He said, "Their words."

"Well this is a much more depressing topic." Nott said with a frown.

"What were you talking about before?" Draco asked as he put the glass of scotch to his lips. Hermione watched Nott wait until he started drinking

"We were thinking about starting a sub club." Nott said. Draco sputtered before he began coughing.

"It will be kind of like the Slug Club." Hermione said, "Because you're not invited to it." Nott laughed as Draco narrowed his eyes. She grinned sheepishly before taking a sip of her drink.

"Nott—that was my business to tell her." Draco said with a frown.

"I know—but I can't help stirring the pot. I'm a Slytherin." He said as he stood up, "Goodnight." Nott called.

"I'll owl you if I need you to make a statement to the aurors." Hermione called after him.

"I'm not reporting this." Draco said.

"Aw hell, I'm leaving." Nott said, walking into the floo and leaving as Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco.

 **Please review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**I hope you like this chapter, I tried to mix a little Draco and Hermione fluff/relationship with trial drama. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

"What do you mean you aren't going to report it?" Hermione asked.

"That's what they want me to do. Freak out and call my new golden trio friends. It will be better for everyone if I just shut up and stay the course—make them think they scared me enough to stay quiet." He argued.

"I don't understand you and Harry." Hermione grumbled, "Why do you have so much trouble telling authority if something goes wrong."

"First of all, I am nothing like Potter." Draco said and Hermione snorted, "Secondly, in this case it is the most logical way to go about things." He demanded, "You aren't going to change my mind. Now, you have court tomorrow and you are going to want to sleep I your own bed. Go home, I will see you tomorrow morning."

"Nope, I am staying here." She insisted, "I am not leaving you alone after you were attacked in your own home."

"I'm not alone."

Hermione scowled, "Scorpius hardly counts."

"Fine." He barked and she grinned.

.

Hermione rolled over in Draco's bed, wondering what woke her up as it was still in the middle of the night. As she opened her eyes, she saw two staring back at her. She jumped back before realizing it was Scorpius standing on her side of the bed.

"I had a nightmare. I was scared." He whispered.

"Me too." Hermione whispered back, not sure what Scorpius would think.

"Can I sleep with you?" He asked.

"Want to sleep in the middle?" She asked, and he nodded, a small smile on his face as he climbed into bed and over Hermione. She pulled him close to her, kissing his head before letting go, "Goodnight." She whispered.

"Goodnight." He said back.

.

"Hermione." A whisper pulled her from her sleep. Someone was holding her hand, "You want to get up to go to work." A gentle reminder came as the sound of a mug being placed on the table made her realize she could smell coffee. She hummed, opening her eyes to see Draco sitting on the bed, fully dressed.

"Scorpius?"

"Getting dressed." He told her, and she nodded. He looked at her funny, "Why did you say you were here last night?"

"What did I tell Scorpius?" She asked to clarify his question, her brain still wasn't awake as she sat up and grabbed the cup of coffee, "He had a nightmare and was scared—so I told him I was scared too."

He nodded, "He informed me this morning that I had to check your flat for monsters. I was unsure what he meant."

His mood was sullen, "Are you alright?" Hermione asked him.

"Anyone I have ever dated since having Scorpius has never been involved in his life." Draco let out with a breath, "I think he is beginning to suspect there is something more between us than what we admit to."

"He is a very intelligent young boy." Hermione complemented, "If you have a problem with that—I can back away for awhile."

He was already shaking his head before she finished her sentence, "No—I am unsure how to proceed with Scorpius and how to tell him."

"Could he keep it a secret until after the trial?"

Draco nodded, "Yes."

"I am content with whatever you decide with Scorpius." Hermione said softly.

"I have spent so much time protecting him, it feels as if I am letting him down." His body was still tense, and Hermione didn't think he would take too kindly to parental advice at the moment so she didn't offer any.

It was silent before she said, "Scorpius loves you, he will understand anything you decide. He practically worships you."

Draco scowled, "That is what I am afraid of."

Hermione thought of Draco's worship of his father, "You are not your father."

"He is a Death Eater and so am I."

"I never feared you like I did your father—and I didn't fear your father because he was older. I was never afraid of you." She took a breath, "And I watched you interact with your father—it isn't the same with Scorpius. You encourage him to think his own thoughts. For Merlin's sake, he is at a muggle school."

"No wizard primary school would take him—that's why he is at a muggle school."

"Do you think your father would have sent you to Muggle School if he couldn't find a wizard school?"

"Wouldn't have happened. He would have threatened to kill someone before that."

Hermione nudged him, "You are not your father."

"I wanted to be."

"And now who do you want to be?"

"For so many years all I wanted to be was a good father—but then you came into my life again."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Hermione asked.

He turned to her with a rueful grin, "Good thing. You made me realize I want more than just to be a good dad. I want to be a healer, and a fantastic lover."

"You have high aspirations." Hermione said with a giggle. He grabbed her hand.

"I had stopped thinking about all of it because it is overwhelming. I didn't want to think about it because the future seemed dim. But now I see so much to look forward to—you make me—" He struggled for a word.

"See hope?" She guessed, and he nodded.

"But unfortunately that leaves more questions than answers. Questions that I have run from for a long time." She nudged him, hoping he would get the hint to elaborate, "I don't want to talk about my fucked up life anymore." He growled, and Hermione instantly recognized a defense.

"We will answer the questions when you're ready." Hermione said softly.

"What if I don't want to answer them with you." He snapped.

Hermione let out a breath, "That is your choice."

"It is my choice!" He growled, turning to her, "Stop looking at me like that."

"How am I looking at you?" Hermione asked calmly. She had too much experience with Harry when he let his anger get the better of him. It was best to just let him yell it out and then when he got tired he was much easier to talk to.

"Like I can get the answers!" He yelled at her standing up, "Why are you doing this Granger? Why are you helping me? You keep saying because I deserve it and I am bloody brilliant—but I don't believe you." He grabbed a mirror on his wall and tossed it. It shattered into a million pieces, making Hermione jump, "No one does something for nothing. I am just like your bloody house elves. A project to make you feel better. And when you leave after all this is over—how am I supposed to explain to my son? Granger wanted to create a rehabilitated Death Eater, so now she is on to the next project!" A vase shattered, and Hermione only watched him.

"Draco." She said softly.

"No! I don't want to talk about this. I tortured people. I nearly killed Dumbledore. I watched people die and I did nothing. I watched you—" He choked up and turned around. He put his hands down on the cabinet and was facing the now empty wall. His shoulders heaved, whether with tears or because he was out of breath she wasn't sure.

Carefully, she got out of bed and walked gingerly around the broken glass before she wrapped her arms around his back. He was shaking, but she didn't let go.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. She squeezed him all the tighter.

"Mary knows this case as much as I do. If you want me to pass it to her, I will." She told him.

"Why?" He asked.

"To prove to you that you aren't a project. I'll give the case to her, and we announce we are dating."

He turned around, "No—I don't want to talk about this." He went to move away from her, but she gripped him too tightly.

"We are going to talk a little bit." She whispered, pushing his hair back as he leaned into her touch, "If being your lawyer means losing you and Scorpius, I won't do it. I'll have Mary take over the case. I didn't realize this bothered you so much."

He rested his head on her shoulder, "I'm not bothered by it most of the time—sometimes this sneaks up on me. I feel out of control, so I desperately try to maintain the things I know I can be good at."

"Like being a father, Malfoy Industries and sex." Hermione said, and he nodded against her.

"Keeping my head down at work—don't challenge anyone. Don't make anyone think you have a contradicting opinion because they will take that as confrontation." He sighed, "I've spent years keeping my head down and I thought I was happy. You made me see I wasn't. And sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much you seem to want for me—I had accepted that I could only cleanse my name so much, that my son would be able to do more. But now I want for me—and I am—I am—"

"Terrified." Hermione finished

He nodded looking up at her, "And on top of all of that, I have a beautiful woman who wants to have sex with me, take care of me, and worries about me—and she likes my son."

"To be fair, everyone should like your son."

He sighed, "I'm being serious, I am—" He ran his fingers through his hair, "I don't understand why you are here."

"You understand." Hermione said, when he looked up at her and looked as if he were willing to listen she continued, "When I do interviews for the Prophet after Kingsley begs me, or sign chocolate frog cards for young children, they tell me I was brave. Or they ask me if I was scared when I faced He-who-must-not-be-named." She sighed, "The Prophet—those children—they don't understand how blurry everything was. How you didn't know who you could trust. A powerful man gave me clues that I didn't understand until it was almost too late. I was picking up scraps and following clues—following Harry blindly." She shook herself, "And when it was over—everyone just expected us to move on." She chuckled coldly, "I had been fighting Voldemort in one form or another since I was eleven—I couldn't just move on. I didn't remember my life without him in it. I was glad he was dead, but he had given my life purpose for years. Without him I felt lost. Which made me feel confused. I thought I was going crazy until Harry came over and admitted the same thing."

She shook her head, "After that I felt like I was free. I could admit to myself what I was struggling with."

"So I understand the war." He grumbled, "That's it?"

"Ron understands the war, and I am not with him. So does Neville." She pushed back his hair so he was looking at her, "I can speak sentences that you can keep up with—and you create your own conversation that is incredibly intelligent. You have a V that I dream about, and we have really great sex."

"A V?" He asked, his brow furrowed.

She blushed, "You know."

"No—I genuinely do not." He said.

"This part." She said, lightly touching just above his waistband, "Cause your muscles form a V." Her blush got worse, he pulled on her waist so she was flush against him.

"I want you on the case. You are the most brilliant person I know—if anyone can win—you can."

"Are you sure?" She asked as he put his forehead against hers, his breath going over her lips.

"Hermione." He whispered her name, his lips brushed against her.

"Say it Draco." She told him, "Say I am not going anywhere. I am not running away."

"Hermione Granger is not going anywhere."

"I don't scare easily."

He closed his eyes, letting out one breath before pressing a chaste kiss that conveyed so much. It nearly melted her with its intensity despite it being one of the softest kisses he had ever given her. Draco pulled back, and then was distracted by the mess.

"Shit—I'm sorry I lost my temper." He said as he waved his wand and the broken glass cleared up and formed its proper pieces.

"It's ok—Harry likes to do the same thing when he is angry."

"Potter and I are nothing alike."

"Whatever you say." She said, her eyes twinkled at him.

"Hm—don't make me take you over my knee."

"I don't believe we have time to play before I am due in court, sir." She murmured as his fingers dug into her hips.

"Avoiding punishment now will just mean more later." He told her, his scowl deepening.

"I don't mean to." She said, looking down at her watch, "I only have an hour and a half before we are due there, and I want to take a shower, get dressed and rehearse—and what am I being punished for, sir?"

"Comparing me to Potter." He said grumpily. Then he waved his hand, "Ah, I am not a good dom when I am second guessing myself, just ignore me."

She pressed kisses to his lips until he wrapped her all the closer, "I'll see you at court."

"Thanks for putting up with me."

"You put up with me seeing Ronald—I think this is more than fair turn around." She assured him, waving before apparating.

xxXXxx

"Auror Roberts." Hermione greeted him, he was the Auror in charge of Malfoy's case when he went through trial after the war.

"Ms. Granger."

Hermione knew Roberts would be less than helpful. Harry was head of the auror department and gave Roberts things that were below his station. He was hired under Rufus Scrimgeour to be ruthless against Death Eaters. Somehow, it had escaped Roberts' attention that the war was indeed over.

"When the defense lawyer Williams asked you if you—in your professional opinion—thought that Malfoy was a rehabilitated Death Eater, you said no."

"I stand by that statement."

"I question how your opinion can be professional." Hermione countered, "How long have you been an auror?"

"Twenty years." He said gruffly.

"And how many Death Eaters cases have you been assigned under Kingsley."

"I was assigned fifty under Scrimgeour."

"I asked about Kingsley."

"One." He said.

"And why is that?" Hermione asked.

"Potter is in charge, you will have to ask him." He sniffed.

"I will when he takes the stand." Hermione conceded, looking to the jury, "But do you think it is odd that the only case you have been assigned to is my client's?"

"No, the auror office has me busy doing other things."

"Were you told why you are not on any more former Death Eater cases?"

"No." Hermione knew that was a lie.

"I will ask Harry what he told you when he takes the stand."

"Potter wasn't in charge when they assigned Malfoy to me." Roberts argued.

"No, but he was second in command to Vince, who was head auror until Harry took over."

"Correct." Roberts said with a frown, his face was red.

"So Harry will know why you are no longer assigned these cases—I can't help but think since Malfoy was your last one, that you did something to mess it up."

"Objection!" William said standing up.

"No more questions." Hermione said with an easy grin as she walked to sit back down.

.

Draco and Hermione were sitting at his kitchen table after court. It was clear he was exhausted. Scorpius was back from school and playing in his room. Hermione had gone back to her office to work most of the afternoon before going back to Draco's house for dinner with him and Scorpius.

"I forgot to tell you, I was offered partner." Hermione said with a grin.

"You going to take it?" He asked, looking up at her.

"No—my contract was worded that partners get no share of my winnings. If I signed to be partner, they would get a portion."

"So they disguise you losing money as a promotion." Draco concluded.

"Yes. I'm not after the money, so part of me thought about signing it anyway. But then I thought—fuck them, they don't deserve it."

Draco grinned, "I believe I am rubbing off on you."

Hermione laughed, "How is Scorpius doing?"

"He was a little bit clingy when I dropped him off at school, but he was fine."

"Do you want to get lunch?"

"It's late."

"I know, but I didn't eat before trial."

"Come on then—lets get you fed." Draco said, standing up and walking toward the kitchen.

"Draco?"

"Hm." He turned back around.

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"Taking care of me." She said, leaning into his arms to kiss his cheek.

"My mother wants to meet you." He said with a sigh.

"Your mother already knows me." Hermione said.

"She talked to me after court today." He said, "She flood over. She claimed she knew I was seeing someone and wanted to meet 'the girl that made me light up'" Draco rolled his eye, "She has no idea it's you."

"You going to spring it on her or tell her?" Hermione asked.

"I have no idea." He confessed as he pulled out items to make dinner, "Part of me thinks that it would be better to spring it on her so she won't have a chance to give me a lecture—the other thinks to tell her before so at least you don't have to hear the lecture."

"Let's tell her together." Hermione said, helping him chop.

"She—uh—will probably call you names." He said awkwardly, "I'm not sure. My mother is—"

Hermione kissed him.

"Ew." Scorpius said, making Draco and Hermione freeze.

"Scorpius." Draco said carefully.

"Are you dating Ms. Mione?" Scorpius asked, climbing up onto the bar stool.

"Yes." Draco confirmed.

"Do you love my Daddy?" Scorpius asked Hermione, the question made Draco choke on the glass of wine he was sipping. Hermione laughed at Draco's expression.

"It's too early for that yet, Scorp." Hermione said, handing Draco a glass of water, continuing to giggle at Draco's reaction.

"How long does it have to be?"

"At least a few more dates than what we've been on." Hermione told him as Draco finally stopped coughing.

"Why is Dad acting funny?" Scorpius asked.

"Because he is silly." Hermione said, rolling her eyes as she sipped her wine.

"Let's eat dinner." Draco managed to say before coughing again.

"You are being ridiculous Draco."

"I think the walls are closing in." He said, making her laugh.

"Don't worry Draco, I haven't chained you down yet." She said with a wink, making him smirk as he thought of other things.

"Chain?" Scorpius said.

"It's a muggle saying." Hermione said, putting down food at the table.

"Scorpius, you can't say anything about me dating Hermione." Draco said seriously as he picked up Scorpius and sat him down at the table.

"Why?" Scorpius asked.

"We want to wait until after the trial is over to tell everyone." Hermione said.

"Why?"

Hermione grinned, "Because the trial will go better if everyone isn't distracted by us dating."

"Ok."

"Scorp—do you promise?" Malfoy asked.

"Yes" Scorpius swore.


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm sorry! I've been gone for awhile. I have no good excuse except for life caught up with me. I am making it up to you with one nice long lemony chapter. This chapter includes heavy tones of bdsm, if this is not your particular proclivity feel free to not read. Please enjoy.**

* * *

Draco had acted more cold toward her during the trial, which she had anticipated due to the attack yesterday. What she did not expect was for him to drag her off after court was out into an empty broom closet. She giggled before he snogged her senseless.

"You're bloody fucking hot when you rip apart a witness." He whispered in her ear, "And in this black dress—fuck." He growled, rolling his hips into hers. He was right. Healer Craft had taken the stand for the defense, and Hermione had ripped him apart five ways till Sunday. She proved in no uncertain terms that the only reason Healer Craft was testifying was that he was unbelievably jealous of Draco and his accomplishments.

"Want a blow job?" She asked.

"Anything to get me off." He panted, she smirked as she slipped a hand down his trousers. He hissed, biting his lip as he put his head down on her shoulder. With her other hand, she unbuttoned his pants and unzipped, "Granger." He moaned as she gave him a full and unhindered stroke.

He whimpered as she removed her hand and pushed him back against the wall. Looking at him, she winked before she dropped to her knees. She took her tongue up the underside of his cock, his hand buried itself in her hair.

"We don't have time for games." He warned her.

She obeyed, opening her mouth and taking him whole.

"Fuck. Shit. Fuck." He growled as she sucked, his hips jerking as she hallowed out her cheeks from the suction, "Be still." He warned her as he held her head. Mr. Dom still had to maintain his dominance—she wasn't surprised. He dictated the pace as he fucked her mouth. From then, it didn't take long, "Merlin. Fuck." He growled, "Granger. I'm going to come." He warned right before he shot off into her mouth.

Her eyes were watering a bit from where he had pushed too far back and gagged her, forcing her to relax her throat. So she wiped away tears as she stood up.

"Merlin, I may need to nap after that." He said, fixing his pants, "Shit, are you ok?"

"Just got a little carried away." She said with a laugh.

"Sorry."

"I'm not mad." She told him and he leaned down to kiss her.

"Are you spending the night tonight after our double date?" He asked, his eyebrows waggling.

"Are you seducing me after I just sucked your cock?" She asked with a laugh.

"I am." He said with a large grin.

"I will stay the night at your house—but I don't want to be up too late because their last witness is tomorrow."

"I can work with that." He promised.

xxXXxx

"This place is fantastic Harry." Hermione complemented as they sat down at the table, "How did you find this place?"

"I have access to records in the ministry that show where the populations of witches and wizards live. This was a good place based on high population density of muggles and there are no witches or wizards that live here." He said.

"Sometimes I think you hang out with Hermione too much." Ginny teased.

"Nothing wrong with that." Hermione said with a grin.

"I hate wearing muggle clothes." Draco said with a sigh, pulling at his jeans again. Hermione pat his leg.

"I thought you took her to a muggle aquarium for a date?" Ginny asked.

"I wore slacks—someone insisted I wear jeans." He scowled.

"I am glad I did." Ginny said with a grin.

"I don't want to hear one comment about his arse." Harry said with a sigh.

"How did you know?" Ginny smiled up at him, "I could have just liked the way jeans look."

"I'd rather not think of Potter looking at my arse." Draco said.

Hermione giggled as Harry turned to his wife, "I know you Mrs. Potter. I know you were looking at his arse."

"Well," She winked at Draco, "He isn't wrong."

"I'm going to go get us drinks." Hermione said with a shake of her head.

"I'll come." Harry volunteered.

"Should we leave them alone together?" Hermione asked as she stood up.

"I think." Harry sounded uncertain, but Ginny winked at him as she waved them off.

.

As they walked to the bar, Hermione slipped her hand into Harry's.

"You doing ok?" He asked.

"I want this trial to be over with." She confessed, "I want to win."

"I don't think anyone doubts that." He said, kissing her head.

"I'm worried what will happen if I lose." She whispered.

"Have you told him this?"

"I usually maintain optimism with my clients."

"But not delusional optimism." Harry countered.

"Maybe you are spending too much time with me." She said, making him laugh.

"What can I get you two?" The bartender asked and Harry rattled off the drinks. Draco actually trusted Harry to get him a 'muggle' drink.

"You seem happy." Harry said.

"He makes me happy." Hermione assured him.

"Have you been sleeping?" Hermione huffed, "Mione." He said her name sternly, like a parent chastising their child.

"With him getting attacked and the trial—not so much."

"Have you told him that?"

"Harry" She said his name grumpily.

"I know you like to maintain your illusion of perfect—but you are not."

"I know—and we talked about some stuff."

"Such as?" Harry prompted.

"When did you become the one that can interpret emotions?" Hermione asked, making Harry chuckle.

"When I became a parent to Teddy." He said, nudging her, "Answer the question."

"I don't like it when people walk away when they are mad—and I am afraid he will leave me." She smiled, "But he has the same issues of fearing I'll walk away, so maybe we are a hopeless case."

"Or a good match." Hermione bit her lip, "He won't leave you—that's for sure. He won't stop staring at you."

"And if I lose the case?"

"He is not that fickle." Harry assured her, "He is one of the most stubborn men I know—besides myself." He said with a grin.

"Here are your drinks." The bartender slid them over.

"Thanks." Harry said, giving two to Hermione after he paid for them. Hermione turned to walk toward the table. Draco and Ginny were in the middle of what looked to be an intense conversation. As Harry and Hermione walked closer, they stopped talking.

"Were you talking about us?" Hermione asked as she put two of the drinks down.

"Only bad things." Draco assured her, making her shake her head as she sat down next to him.

"I finally flagged down a waiter so we can get menus for food." Ginny said.

.

Dinner went surprisingly well. There were a couple awkward moments, they couldn't be avoided with Harry having so much history with Draco. They both managed to laugh it off and move onto better memories. Hermione kept her hand on Draco's thigh, never letting it go. She knew it wasn't his ideal way to spend a Thursday evening, but he was willing to do it for her. Maybe Harry was right, she needed to be more willing to show that she was imperfect. Ginny and Harry had walked off to see the muggles playing pool.

"Thank you." She said, turning up to look at him.

"For?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"For being here—for having dinner with my friends."

"I will deny this if you ever bring it up again—but I think Potter and I are becoming friends." He said with a smile, "And Red loves me. So I think they might become my friends."

She smiled back, "Your secret is safe with me."

He leaned forward and kissed her lips chastely, then sighed, "It is nice to do that in public."

"We can come out of the closet in a week." She assured him. He kissed her again because he could.

"We got a pool table!" Ginny said waving to them, "Come on!"

.

Ginny and Draco knew how to play, so the two of them played as Harry and Hermione watched. She smiled as she watched her boyfriend cheat his way through the entire game. Ginny was none-the-wiser and got very frustrated when her ball would hit off the side of the pocket and not go in.

Hermione shamelessly cheered every time his ball went into the pocket. He winked at her when he lined up for the eight ball and shot it into the pocket. Hermione applauded, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a sloppy kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, picking her up off the ground.

"You are a terrible cheat." She whispered in his ear.

He chuckled deeply, holding her tighter and picking her up a little higher, "I'm a Slytherin."

"We have to go back home." Harry said, looking at his watch, "Andromeda is dropping off Teddy soon."

"Thanks for bringing us here." Hermione said.

"Of course, we are looking forward to more double dates." Ginny said pointing at Draco.

"I can't wait." He said flatly, making Hermione giggle.

"You two going home?" Harry asked

Hermione turned to Draco, "What are we doing?"

"I could stay for another drink." Draco said.

"Sounds good to me." Hermione agreed. Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes before leaving out the front door. Of course, they apparated away down the street.

.

As soon as Ginny and Harry walked out the door, Draco pulled her in close. His fingers went along her back and snuck under her shirt. He kissed her strongly.

"Thank you." She whispered

"You will have to go to my mother's event on Wednesday where you will have to be Blaise's date. So I think we will even each other out." He told her.

"You're right—maybe you owe me more." She said with a giggle.

"I'll go get another drink—can you have another?" He asked. She knew what he was asking, could she have another and still be clear headed for that evening.

"I only had the one drink." She said, leaning in closer to him. He hummed contently. He felt so warm against her, his black sweater cut just right around his arms.

"Or we could go home?" He suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea." She hummed.

"You have that look on your face." He said.

"What look?"

"Like you are going to go to war." He teased, rubbing his thumb along her jaw.

"Then lets get a drink at home instead." She suggested.

He nodded, kissing her before pulling her toward the door.

.

He poured two drinks, sliding one of them to Hermione.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Harry convinced me to be more realistic about your case. I am not being honest with my odds of winning and not just insanely optimistic."

"I know you are being that way for my benefit." He said.

"I am fallible."

He kissed her head, "I know you are."

"I'm scared that if I lose you will walk away." She whispered.

He pulled her chin toward him, she was looking down afraid to look up at him. A light rub of his thumb on her chin made her flick her eyes up. His grey eyes were staring at her intently.

"I'm not going anywhere. If you lose, I know you tried everything." He swore.

She had tears in her eyes, "I don't want to disappoint you."

He leaned down and kissed her softly. The kiss quickly intensified as he deepened it.

"You have done so much for me." He murmured, "You could not possibly disappoint me. You have done more for me than—" He swallowed tightly, his fingers digging into her a bit too tight, he shook his head, "You couldn't disappoint me. That you want this—all this for me is—overwhelming."

She leaned up and kissed him chastely before looking back down and blushed, "There is something else."

"Ok." He took a sip of scotch.

"Theo asked if I wanted to know the best way to suck your—" She stopped, looking at the ground, "I just—do I need to ask him?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Theo was here a couple days ago." He told her.

"Yes."

"What did I say about doubting your sexual abilities?" He asked, his tone leading.

She flushed red, "To ask you right away." She whispered, "I just had never thought about talking to your former lovers—and that one of them would be male."

"Does this bother you?"

She shook her head, smiling, "No, I just was surprised." His shoulders moved down as he let out a sigh of relief.

"You still did not follow my rule." He said, "And so far I only have one." She shivered at his tone.

"What is my punishment Sir?" She asked.

"We will discus it once we are finished discussing your insecurities." He said, pushing hair out her face, "I am pleased by you—you do not need to talk to Theo to get tips."

"I just—I don't know how?"

"You are beautiful, intelligent and sexy—what is not to be pleased by?"

"I am not sexy."

"Yes you are." He assured her. She looked up at him with a frown, "You are, that is not up for debate. You were so sexy in court I had to hide my erection under my robes before I could pull you into a closet to suck me off." He said with a smile, "Can't get any sexier than that."

"But that is intelligent sexy—not sexy sexy." She waved to her body.

He shook his head he put his hand back on her cheek, "I was watching your ass in court—I think I only heard half of what you said."

She shook her head with a smile, "You make me feel sexy."

"Good—because that is what you are." He smiled the most breath taking smile, which she had to reward with a kiss, "Now about your punishment."

"What about Scorpius?"

"He is staying with my mother for the night." He smirked, "But nice try." Hermione frowned as he stood up, but she had broken one of his rules, "I think a spanking would be most appropriate." Hermione almost giggled, but refrained as she followed him into his sex room. She was surprised just the bodily reaction she had to walking into the room. The color of the walls, the sight of the rack had her remembering all the pleasurable things he had done to her.

"Strip." He ordered. She shivered before she did what she was told. Folding everything up, she put it on the ground next to the door and stood up completely naked. He was watching her, his grey eyes nearly black. He was still completely clothed as he sat down on the couch.

He cocked his eyebrow as he motioned for her to lie over his knee. She gave a small smile before she lay over him. He adjusted her legs so her knees were out a bit, his hand ran over her bum, making it feel warm.

"I want you to count out loud." He told her as his hand continued to warm her, it felt like all her blood was rushing to her ass.

"Yes sir." She said

The first slap was a light one on her right butt cheek. She yelped even though it wasn't too painful, she was just surprised.

"One." She said. His hand still roamed her backside, sliding close to her cunt but never quite touching it.

The next slap was a bit harder. She had read about this in her books. The slaps in the beginning were for warming up at first, to get heat pooling into the area before really beginning. She tried not to squirm in anticipation.

"Two." She moaned. He asked her how the pain was on a scale from one to ten and she gave her answer. The pain wasn't too bad, but she knew based on her answer it was about to get worse.

The next two slaps came in quick succession and they hurt. She counted them, the pain beginning to make her feel warm. He asked her again where the pain was on the scale.

The next slap was on her inner thigh, and she squealed before shouting the number. There was another slap on her thigh, and she moaned out in pain before counting again. His hand moved to other areas of her bum, never hitting in exactly the same place.

"Last one." He said before his hand landed on her again. She cried out the last number as his hand brushed along her ass. It was tender and sore as he gathered her up in his arms, "What did you do wrong?" He asked.

"I didn't come talk to you when I doubted my sexual performance." She said, his thumb wiping away tears that she didn't know were there. He hummed his approval, kissing her softly.

"Now, I want you to go over and lay on the center of the bed."

She stood up, biting her lip, "May I undress you Sir?" She asked.

He contemplated for a moment, "My shoes, socks and sweater you may take off." He answered.

Smiling, "Thank you sir." She said breathlessly, he hummed his approval. She loved his hum, deep in his throat. His eyes watched her as she got down on her knees. He was still sitting on the couch. Grabbing his one foot, she carefully untied his right shoe and pulled it off, then took off his sock before doing the other foot. His eyes never looked away. She glanced down and smiled when she saw his erection, licking her lips. He chuckled deeply, as if he knew what she was thinking.

"Not tonight." He told her, and she frowned. When she was done taking off his shoes, she stood up.

"May you stand up sir so I may take off your sweater?" She asked. He nodded, standing up. Her hands went to the bottom of his sweater. She wanted to run her fingers up and down him—but her Sir did not give her permission to do that. Easily, she pulled the cashmere sweater over his head. She was breathless as she looked up into his stormy grey eyes.

"On the bed." He ordered again when she didn't move.

"Yes sir." She murmured, turning away from and moving to take a step forward.

"Did I say you could walk?" He asked, his voice just behind her ear making her entire body shiver.

Easily, she dropped down to her knees and crawled over toward the bed. She could feel his eyes staring at her arse, which she was sure was bright red. When she got to the bed, she climbed on top of it.

"How do you want me to lie down, sir?" She asked.

"Face up with your knees up, hands above your head." He said. She did as she was ordered. A chuckle made her turn her head toward him, "Knees apart Granger."

She blushed before doing as she was ordered.

"I wonder how many times I will fuck you before you stop blushing." He said with a grin. His hands were busy by hers, and she wasn't surprised when cuffs went around her wrists. They were similar to the ones used last time, comfortable and wide so she could pull on them without too much damage. He moved her feet and put different bonds around her ankles. It kept her feet spread out wide and her knees bent.

"Put your ass up." He ordered, and she picked it up as he slid a pillow underneath that angled her so her ass was up in the air. He let out a breath of air, "Your cunt is already so wet. Is it for me?" He asked.

"Yes sir." She moaned, sliding her ass up the pillow as he moved to sit on his knees between her legs.

"Fucking whore." He growled, sliding two fingers along her slit extremely softly. She groaned, "How do you feel about gags?" He asked.

"Green sir." She said breathlessly, almost crying out when he rolled off the bed. She turned to watch him.

"Eyes on the ceiling, Granger." He ordered. She huffed but did as she was ordered, "Sass from subs means no orgasms." He warned her.

The thought of not having an orgasm nearly made her weep, so she kept her mouth shut. He came back with a simple cloth gag. He stood by her head and took her hand, moving it into a fist and then back out twice.

"That will be your safe word since you have a gag in your mouth. Can you do it again for me?" He asked, "Good job. If you do that, I will say the word to release the bonds immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir." She said right before the gag went into her mouth. He grabbed her chin forcefully, shoving it a bit as he walked around her.

"Look at you—bound and gagged. Knees pulled apart—wet cunt—begging to be fucked." He ran his hands through his hair, "Now what to do to the beautiful little whore." He walked out of her line of vision and reappeared between her legs.

A long finger touched her knee, making her jump as it lightly touched her inner thigh.

"I am going to bring you to the brink of orgasm five times. You will not have an orgasm or you will be punished—do you understand." She nodded and said yes sir but it was only sounds behind the gag. He blew gently on her inner leg, making her inch her butt up. He grabbed his wand and murmured a spell. When he blew again, she went to arch her hips to find that they wouldn't move. He had bound them to the pillow.

"Checking in?" He asked, "Green?" She nodded furiously, wiggling her hips as little as she could in excitement. Her cunt was aching to be touched. She already felt like a slight touch would take her over the edge.

"I've never seen such a perfect pussy." He growled, "It's dripping everywhere." She was watching his face and not his hands, so she screamed into the gag when something touched her core. She couldn't tell exactly what it was, but she thought it was something plastic as it pushed inside of her. It felt fantastic to be full, it wasn't his cock but it would help for now. Her nipples were erect and arched upward as she moaned as he pumped the toy in and out of her.

She screamed again when the vibration turned on. There was a small piece that bumped into her clit every time the toy slid in. Her orgasm was building. She wanted to push back against it, but her hips wouldn't move. Nothing was stopping the blinding orgasm that was going to rip her apart.

.

And then it stopped.

.

She was sobbing as she came down from her high, so close to her orgasm only for it to be ripped away.

.

"One." His voice was deep as he slid closer to her.

.

How in the world was she supposed to do this five whole times? She had read somewhere in her books that women could do more than five and it sounded reasonable in her head. Living it was entirely different.

.

She groaned as the toy was put back inside her. The orgasm that had been denied the last time built back that much quicker as he turned the vibration on. She was helpless as he shoved the toy deep inside her, the vibration hitting her clit as he rolled the toy. She screamed into the gag right before he turned the vibration off and pulled the toy out. Clenching her body, she kept herself from orgasm again.

.

"Two." His voice grounded her and pulled her back to earth. She hoped he didn't go back in soon with the toy because she felt as if he would just push a toy inside her, she would orgasm. He seemed to understand that because he waited a bit, letting her come down from her high.

The toy that pushed inside her this time was different. There was no piece that vibrated against her clit but it still vibrated inside of her. She cried out with every thrust inside her. The orgasm was so close it was practically burning her body. But once again the vibration abruptly stopped as she clung onto the precipice. Screaming into her gag at yet another denied orgasm, her body came back down and then he pulled the toy back out.

.

"Three." How was she going to survive two more? Her entire body was on fire. She wanted to rip out of her bonds and impale herself on his cock. Even just thinking about it made her moan. She wanted to use the safe symbol so she could get out of this. But even the thought of giving up made her frown. No. She wanted this. She could do this.

He pushed the first toy back inside her and it brushed against her clit. It wasn't vibrating yet, and she started crying. This one was not going to be easy. When he turned the toy on, she screamed into the gag. Her orgasm was a breath away, if she just relaxed her body and let herself be overcome—she would fall over. Just as she thought of doing it, the toy turned off. The slap on her face took her by surprise, his dark grey eyes were furious as he leaned over her.

"I said no orgasms until five denied ones." He said darkly. How had he known what she was thinking? "You will now have seven denied orgasms." Her eyes widened as she shook her head, another slap to the other cheek made her eyes water, "Do not say no to me." He growled. So she nodded as many times as she could, "Good little whore." He sat back up, "You might want to be careful what you wish for with orgasms. You have had four denied, there are three more."

She wondered what he meant by that—why would she regret wishing for an orgasm?

"Of course my little whore wants an orgasm. Such a needy little bitch." He growled, shoving another toy into her. She choked against her gag in surprise, and he waited until she stopped coughing to start thrusting it into her. Pulling on her bonds on her arms as tightly as she could, she tried to focus on how the leather was cutting into her skin instead of the orgasm building in her belly. The pain helped distract her as he brought her up to the very edge and left her again.

"Five." He said.

She could have been done by now if she hadn't messed up. Why hadn't she listened?

It was so very tempting to give the symbol as he sat back, waiting for her to come down. But she didn't, she wouldn't. Her legs were so weak they had flopped open. The only reason they hadn't collapsed was because the ties kept them open. She sobbed as a toy was once against pushed inside of her. Just two more. Just two. She could do this.

This time when the orgasm was denied, she was a blubbering mess. She was clamping down on her cloth gag to keep from coming.

"You've got one more." Her sir reminded her. She nodded, taking deep breaths to try to prepare herself. Her body was so primed, she thought if she just relaxed as she sat here she could talk herself into an orgasm. He ran the toy up her leg before he pushed it inside of her. This one didn't have the vibrating piece against her clit, and she almost sighed in relief. It took him a bit longer to get her to the edge of her orgasm as he thrust against her, but it nearly killed her as the orgasm was denied once more. She clenched her toes and arched her hips up against the spell to keep herself from coming.

She abruptly found the gag gone, so she figured Draco had gotten rid of it with a spell, "Do you want my cock?" He asked.

"Merlin yes." She cried out, "Please sir, please. Please." She sobbed. He got down off the bed and she could hear the zip of his jeans, but she couldn't find the energy to pick her head up to watch him strip. He nestled down back between her legs. His cock brushed against her went cunt and she screamed.

"You may orgasm." He told her.

"Thank you sir." She managed to say between tears as he slowly, painfully slowly, pushed inside of her. When something cold was placed on her clit, she yelped in confusion. A murmur of a spell kept the cold piece of plastic from moving as he slid out and pushed into her again.

"Fuck!" She screamed when the toy began vibrating against her clit. Her body was helpless against the onslaught of his cock and the vibrating toy on her clit. It took her seconds before the strongest orgasm of her life ripped her apart. She saw white as she screamed, unable to do anything but fall apart.

But the toy did not move and his cock did not stop. She tried to wiggle her hips against the toy to get away from it, but it didn't move. Her clit hurt from the pleasure, but suddenly she felt another orgasm building. Now it seemed her body could do nothing against it but have another orgasm rip through her and nearly destroy her.

And still it did not stop.

She knew she was screaming, but it didn't feel like it was her. It was the strangest out of body experience as she nearly fought her own body against having another orgasm. This is what he meant. This is why he wanted her to be careful what she wished for. He was watching her intently as another orgasm bled through her.

He continued to thrust inside her, but she knew he was close.

"No! No! No!" She cried out as the toy did not move and another orgasm began building. She didn't want to have another orgasm. A few minutes ago she would have murdered to have one, but now she didn't want it. Her clit was in pain, her breasts were in pain, her wrists were in pain. Everything hurt as another orgasm built in her. She screamed with every thrust. His fingers dug into her hips as he started coming, his hips still thrusting inside of her. It was only moments after that another orgasm overwhelmed her.

"Red!" She cried out, shaking her head, "Red. Red." She said again, instantly the toy was gone and so were the bonds. The spell released her hips and she was left to come down from her orgasm in peace.

"Granger." He called to her, and she looked to him, "You're ok."

She nodded, "Good now sir." She hummed as he pulled her into his arms, kissing her lips softly.

"I am going to get healing supplies for your wrists and arse—need anything else?" He asked.

"Water." She requested, "And something for my face."

He nodded, kissing her once more before. He left her vision, and she focused just on her breathing. She didn't think she could move her body if she wanted to. Soft hands delicately grabbed her wrists and put some sort of ointment on them. She closed her eyes to just feel his touch. He moved to the other wrist.

"Do not fall asleep, Granger." Her sir ordered, so she nodded. He went from her wrists to her ankles, which apparently were not as bad because he did not spend as much time on it. Rolling her over, he applied more cream to her arse.

She was completely relaxed as he pulled her up into his lap, holding a water bottle with a straw she could sip on as he looked at her face. He murmured spells to heal her face where he had hit her.

"You did very well today." He said seriously.

"Thank you sir." She murmured against his shoulder, it warmed her to hear his praises.

"The longer you do this, the more orgasms you will be able to have before you have to use the safe word. We will get to a point where I will know how many you can have." He assured her.

"Yes sir." She whispered, his sentence didn't require an answer but she wanted him to know she was listening.

"I do not like bratty subs." He told her, "But you only gave me lip once—we will work on that."

"Yes sir." She said. She didn't know why she was enjoying this part. It was like reading the comments on her O.W.L.S or N.E. . She was warmed by the praise he gave her.

"You did very well." He said before kissing her softly, making her smile at him, "And I see a lot of potential."

"Thank you sir." She said, and he smiled brightly before kissing her again.

"Are you ready to go back to my room?"

"Yes sir." She said, already feeling lethargic.

"I will not be your sir anymore when you leave here." He warned.

She frowned, "A bit longer?" She asked. He nodded, "Will I receive punishment for trying to orgasm?" She asked.

"No." He shook his head, "The punishment was the added two denied orgasms." He pushed hair out of her face, "You do that again, and the punishment will be more severe."

"Yes sir."

"The cream I put on your arse will heal it enough, but you will still be sore tomorrow. It will serve as a reminder as to what will happen if you disobey me so don't you dare heal it yourself tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

"And if you think I am not above taking you into a closet somewhere and giving you the punishment you deserve—then you will be surprised." His voice was still the deep one of her sir. It was quiet after that, the both of them just breathing softly.

"I am ready to go back to your room." She whispered.

"Want me to carry you?"

"Yes please sir."

He pulled her up to his chest as he walked to the door. His room was dark compare to the sex room, and the door closed behind them as he set her down in his bed.

"Where are your pajamas?" He asked.

"Can I wear one of your shirts?" She asked.

He chuckled before moving away. He slid an undershirt over her head and pulled her arm through the holes, she was too weak to move.

"You are like Scorpius getting dressed in the morning." He teased.

"I can't move." She told him with a frown, and he chuckled before kissing her lips. He slid on boxers before he got into bed next to her.

"Night Mione." He whispered, pulling her close.

"Goodnight."

* * *

 **Hope this chapter was worth the wait!**


End file.
